The University Teachers' Association of Ghana (UTAGrefusal)'s decision to call off their strike while negotiations continue has been branded as unlawful and unpatriotic by Vincent Ekow Assafuah, a member of Parliament's Education Committee.
According to him, UTAG is creating a poor precedent with its steadfast attitude in what looks to be a premeditated attempt by the association to extort money from the government over its working conditions.
"For the avoidance of dispute, basic labor standards prohibit talking while a worker is on strike." The difficulty with which UTAG fails to comprehend this basic labor law obligation astounds me. I'm concerned about UTAG's negative example. UTAG's acts are simply unlawful and unpatriotic, and they must be punished.
While the teachers' requests may be reasonable, Mr. Assafuah believes that "they should come to the realization that using an amicable and acceptable manner of conveying an assertive demand rather than resorting to a lengthy strike, which is not beneficial for our educational sector."
After several weeks of idle teaching and learning, academic work and activities have come to a standstill.
Some university students and education think tanks have called for universities to close due to the strike, which they say may jeopardize the academic calendar.
On the other hand, Vincent Assafuah wants the NLC to be objective because it oversees negotiations between the government and professors.
"The NLC must play a critical role in resolving this deadlock via mutual respect and understanding."
Assafuah remarked, "I would want to implore UTAG to soften their tough position and reconsider their decision in order to avoid exacerbating the problem by tarnishing their hard-won professional reputation."
The High Court's Labour Division has ordered the National Labour Commission (NLC) and UTAG to resolve the strike outside of court for the second time.
This comes after a previous order from the same court, which was disobeyed by university teachers.
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