The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has requested that striking university administrators give him one month to address the issues that have led to industrial action among senior non-teaching staff in public universities.
Members of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) and the Technical University Senior Administrators Association of Ghana (TUSAAG) initiated a strike due to what they refer to as disparities in Market Premium and other allowances between teaching and non-teaching senior staff in public universities.
This industrial action has highlighted ongoing concerns regarding the remuneration and working conditions of university administrators, who are essential to the management and daily operations of tertiary institutions.
The unions are calling for measures to rectify what they perceive as inequities in the distribution of Market Premium and related allowances, especially when compared to their teaching counterparts.
Despite discussions between the involved parties and relevant government bodies, the disagreement continued, leading the administrators to take industrial action to emphasise their demands.
Nevertheless, the Education Minister is now requesting one month to facilitate dialogue and work towards a resolution of the issues raised by the unions.
During a meeting with representatives of the striking unions on Monday, August 17, Haruna Iddrisu stated that his office was in communication with the Ministry of Finance as part of the efforts to resolve the outstanding matters.
He noted that the Finance Ministry requires verified data on the number of affected staff and the financial implications before any decisions can be made regarding the payment of the outstanding entitlements.
He thus urged the university administrators to provide the necessary information to assist the government in addressing the issue.
“The Deputy Minister for Finance, he said, even when GTEC wrote to you [the striking unions], one of you in your writing, you copied him [the Deputy Minister for Finance], they asked for a validated audit of the numbers to pay. Give me one month from today, but I need the data.”
The recent engagement with the Education Ministry may present a chance for the government and the unions to collaborate in resolving the dispute and reinstating normal administrative operations at the impacted institutions.
