Following a crucial meeting with Parliament’s Education Committee, the leadership of the University Teachers of Ghana (UTAG) has agreed in principle to call off their strike.
This was confirmed by Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, Ranking Member of the Education Committee, who said that UTAG would publish their decision after consulting with members.
UTAG, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, and representatives from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission attended the meeting with the Education Committee.
“”After listening to the cases, we realised that there will be the need for more dialogue. We finally appealed as a committee to UTAG to call off the strike which they agreed in Principle. We expect they call off the strike today and then continue with the negotiations,” Peter Nortsu-Kotoe said.
The Labour Division of the Accra High Court on Tuesday granted an interlocutory injunction against the industrial action by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) after an appeal by the National Labour Commission (NLC).
The NLC took UTAG to court after efforts to convince UTAG to call off its strike were unsuccessful.
The court ordered the parties to reach an out-of-court settlement on two occasions, but the engagements ended inconclusively.
With the most recent directive, it was expected that UTAG would immediately return to the classroom, but this has not occurred.
The meeting with the Education Committee of Parliament seems to be the last effort to resolve the impasse between the groups, which has been resolved peacefully, according to Nortsu-Kotoe.
The terms under which UTAG will call off the strike, as well as the substance of the concessions made during the meeting, are unknown.
Meanwhile, the substantive motion is still pending in court and is scheduled for hearing on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. UTAG feels they have a good case.
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