The National Labour Commission (NLC) has summoned the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) in response to the UTAG-UESD’s declaration of an indefinite strike.
This strike is due to the government’s failure to pay their Online Teaching Support Allowance. The hearing is scheduled on the matter for Wednesday, February 28, and the NLC has requested UTAG-UESD to appear before the commission on that date.
In the meantime, the NLC has urged the lecturers to suspend the ongoing strike and resume their duties in the lecture halls while their concerns are being addressed.
This summons comes as a result of the NLC exercising its powers under section 139 of the Labour Act (2003), Act 651, which grants the commission the authority to summon parties for the hearing of disputes.
This development comes amidst a wave of industrial action within the tertiary education sector, with other unions and associations also expressing their grievances in various ways.
The situation is indicative of the need for proactive and strategic conflict resolution mechanisms to address the concerns of all stakeholders involved.