Call off intended strike – Education Ministry pleads with UTAG

The Ministry of Education (MoE) on Thursday appealed to the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to reconsider their decision to embark on industrial action.

Government is working with relevant state institutions towards addressing issues relating to the payment of UTAG arrears, MoE stated in a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

The ministry also urged UTAG to critically consider the payment schedule proposed by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FESC) and the Ministry of Finance for the payment of the arrears in three installments.

The installment package is expected to start from May 2013.

The statement, signed by Mr Paul Kofi Krampa, Director of Public Relations, MoE, said the ministry had noted with grave concern the decision by UTAG to embark on strike.

The statement recalled that the FESC and the Ministry of Finance on one hand and UTAG on the other hand held series of meetings to negotiate the payment of the outstanding salary arrears to members of UTAG.

The statement said the government’s team offer of the payment of arrears in three installments was rejected by UTAG.

The statement said following the stalemate, the MoE, through the National Council on Tertiary Education, facilitated a meeting with the FWSC and UTAG on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 for amicable solution to the problem.

It said, however, that the intervention did not meet the demand of UTAG to receive the arrears in three installments.

Source: GNA