The Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana, the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and other affiliated unions have suspended their industrial strike.
The decision to suspend the strike was a result of a successful negotiation they had with the government over their conditions of service, where some of their major concerns were addressed.
Addressing the media after the meeting, the Chairman of TEWU, the University of Ghana Chapter, Ken Botchway, disclosed that the government has paid the nine months arrears of tier two benefits owed them.
“Fortunately, the government has released the funds to the fund managers as we speak. That notwithstanding, the government is supposed to pay a 3% penalty for delay in releasing the funds,” he said.
Mr Botchway added that the strike was not cancelled because the government still had to address other issues.
“There is supposed to be interest calculated on the money the government has released. The government is supposed to use compound interest and not simple interest; if you use simple interest, the contributors are at a disadvantage, so it is another chapter we are going to look at,” he added.
University unions declared an indefinite nationwide strike on January 17, 2024, to demand better conditions of service and pension.
The striking groups are the Senior Staff Association of Public Universities in Ghana (SSA-UoG), the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff (FUSSAG)
According to the Associations, the government has failed to fulfil payment of their two-tier pension and overtime allowances for a long time.
The strike caused various public universities to suspend their services.