TUTAG Threatens Strike Over Poor Conditions Of Service

The Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana, TUTAG, has warned that the government would face their wrath in the coming days if it refuses to address their concern on the subject of conditions of service.

The last time TUTAG’s conditions of service was reviewed was in 2006, according to the union. The situation remained the same for over 14 years even after Polytechnics gained Technical universities status.

The Union is therefore notifying the government that, the time is due for them to be given better conditions of service indicating that, “the government has exceeded TUTAG’s tolerable limits”.

At a news conference in Tamale to register their displeasure at government’s attitude towards addressing the union’s concerns, TUTAG’s national president, Dr. Michael A Brigandi called on the government to “sign and implement the conditions of service documents presented by TUTAG with the urgency it deserves”.

He noted that any “ further delay from the National Council for Tertiary Education and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has the tendency of jeopardizing efforts at calming down the nerves of teachers of technical universities in the country”.

Payment of Book and Research Arrears

According to the union, all other university lecturers have been paid their book and research allowance after it was reviewed upward by 100% in 2018 except TUTAG members.

They lamented the government’s discrimination against them in paying the book and research allowances.

The union has therefore warned that it will within two weeks advice its members if the government fail to pay their book and research arrears.

The union also cautioned that government’s failure to migrate WA and Bolga technical universities teachers on to the public university salary structure will jeopardize the current peace on the campuses of various technical universities.

Wa and Bolga polytechnics have been successfully converted to technical universities but lecturers in those universities are still paid as polytechnic teachers.

Accreditation of Technical universities academic programs

The mother union of technical university teachers also bemoaned how the government is acting through National Council for Tertiary Education, NCTE and the National Accreditation Board to impede the progress of technical universities.

They noted that the two bodies, NCTE and NAB “is doing all it can to frustrate the existence of technical universities by failing to give their degree and masters programs accreditation”.

TUTAG questions why technical universities would be denied accreditation to offer degree programs when their new status permits them to do so.

They blame the situation on government for deliberately empanelling what it describes as theory-based academics to assess practical/competency-based programs. They, therefore, want the government and all stakeholders involved to speed up the process to give accreditation to the universities to run degree and masters programs or face their wrath.

However, while TUTAG add up its voice in calling for a peaceful electioneering process come December 7, 2020, they also warned it could be hot for the government if their several concerns are not addressed before the time.

—Starrfm.com.gh