Striking university teachers are likely to call off their strike soon.
This is after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with government following hours of discussions on Tuesday.
The members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) declared a nationwide strike five weeks ago to demand the payment of their book and research allowance.
Under the MoU, the government has agreed to pay the lecturers their research and book allowance under the existing arrangement for the 2013/14 academic year.
It was also agreed that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) will negotiate the conditions of service for UTAG members taking into consideration government’s decision to set up a national research fund.
The agreement further demanded UTAG to immediately call off the strike
However, in an interview with Citi News after meeting officials of the Education and Finance Ministries, the president of UTAG, Dr. Samuel Bekoe said the leadership of UTAG will announce their final decision after meeting members on Wednesday.
He said: “Whatever we have agreed with government is what we are taking to them [UTAG members] because they gave us the mandate in the first place to call the strike so it’s only appropriate that we refer whatever we agreed on.”
Public universities have indefinitely postponed re-opening dates following the UTAG strike.
Therefore, if the strike is called off, the 2014.2015 academic year will soon commence.
The Ministry of Education had described the strike declared by the university teachers as unfortunate.
The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Paul Krampah told Citi News, “it is just unfortunate for UTAG to embark on a strike.”
UTAG declared their indefinite strike over what they considered as government’s deliberate attempt to unduly delay payment of their book and research allowance.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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