University Administrators Threaten to Name and Shame Members Who Defy Indefinite Strike
The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has warned that it will “name and shame” members who defy its directive to fully comply with an indefinite strike over disparities in allowances between teaching and non-teaching senior members of public universities.
The strike took effect on Monday, August 10, with the Association directing all members to stay away from work until the issues in dispute are satisfactorily resolved.
The Association says the action is aimed at protesting what it describes as a widening gap in Market Premium and related allowances between Teaching Senior Members and Non-Teaching Senior Members.
Phanuel Seli Kwadzo Asense, Secretary of the GAUA chapter at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said the disparity had become too wide to ignore.
“We are on strike, and it is simply because there is a widening disparity in the market premium offered by the government and related allowances,” he said.
He said the Association was not opposed to improvements in the conditions of service of teaching staff but wanted similar consideration for non-teaching senior members.
“If you peg the least teaching staff allowance in relation to the highest non-teaching staff, you see a disparity of not less than 50% in terms of allowances,” Mr Asense said.
He stressed that the action was not directed at universities or teaching staff.
“GAUA is not fighting non-teaching staff. Neither is it fighting the university. We are simply seeking the welfare of members,” he said.
The Association says it has engaged the government and other relevant authorities in an attempt to resolve the matter, but those efforts have not produced what it considers a satisfactory response.
Mr Asense said the issue was also discussed at the Association’s recent conference in Sunyani, where members reaffirmed their position on the disparity.
He said the Association would consider ending the strike if the government responded positively to its demand to narrow the gap between the allowances paid to teaching and non-teaching senior members.
“If the government is a listening government and listens to our demands in respect of breaking the gap between the disparity between senior members teaching and non-teaching, obviously GAUA will consider coming back from the strike,” he said.
The strike covers all categories of GAUA members, including information technology staff, accountants, doctors and development officers, rather than being limited to specific departments.
Mr Asense said the Association would also monitor compliance to ensure members did not continue working remotely or from their offices.
“We are not doing it gradually; we are going to have a team on the ground to make sure that nobody is working either remotely or physically in the offices,” he said.
At KNUST, executives of the Association met members ahead of the industrial action and stressed the need for all members to comply with the strike directive.
The Association maintains that while it supports improvements in the conditions of service of Teaching Senior Members, such improvements should not come at the expense of Non-Teaching Senior Members or create what it considers discriminatory disparities in compensation.
