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Gov’t delays triggered our strike – UTAG
The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) are accusing government of not being proactive in addressing their concerns which they say has led to the indefinite strike called by members of the association.
UTAG on Wednesday announced an indefinite strike over the non-payment of their book and research allowance.In an interview, Deputy General Secretary of UTAG, Samuel Atintonu said the decision followed the inability of government to respond to their demands which have been tendered in since February 2015.“Last year we got to this point and we knew that we didn’t want to get to where we are today… you do not wait when there is a strike then you say you have written to the minister of finance asking for the process to start. For us as UTAG members, the executive secretary of the NCTE will normally write to the various universities to ask them to start to prepare the list that is what we wanted,” he said.
Meanwhile the ministry of education on Thursday said it had initiated the process to pay the book and research allowances adding that it had among other things, requested the Auditor General to audit the claims of the various beneficiary institutions.
But Mr. Atintonu downplayed a possible response from the finance ministry to the request by the education ministry.
“I am not quite sure they have been given a firm response from the ministry as we talk now. It is merely writing a letter and as far as we are concerned, we do not have that in our institutions and we are about to start another academic year that is where the difficulty is and this is where our members are on us that, we have finished 2014/2015 we do not want to start 2015/2016 and then get into that difficulty again,” he explained.
But Mr. Atintonu downplayed a possible response from the finance ministry to the request by the education ministry.
“I am not quite sure they have been given a firm response from the ministry as we talk now. It is merely writing a letter and as far as we are concerned, we do not have that in our institutions and we are about to start another academic year that is where the difficulty is and this is where our members are on us that, we have finished 2014/2015 we do not want to start 2015/2016 and then get into that difficulty again,” he explained.
credit: citi news
