A labour consultant and former Minister of Employment, Austin Gamey, has described government’s decision to freeze the salaries of striking polytechnic teachers as unfortunate.
The Ministry of Education on Friday requested the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to freeze the August salaries of the striking teachers.
Prior to this directive, the Sole Commissioner, Justice Yaw Apau had urged government to institute a policy which will withhold the salaries of any worker unions which will embark on an industrial action.
The University Teachers Assocation of Ghana(UTAG) and the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana(POTAG) have all criticized the decision.
This has prompted the UTAG to seek redress in court.
In an interview with Citi News, former Minister of Employment, Austin Gamey called for a review of the government’s directive saying that “if there is a misunderstanding between the employer and workers there are laid down procedures they have to follow.”
He later urged both the government and the striking teachers to seek further clarification on the labor laws from National Labour Commision(NLC) and disclosed “there is a heavy dose of misunderstanding and misapplication of the law guiding labor relations.”
By: Benjamin Epton Owusu/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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