The Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union of TUC (GH), TEWU of TUC (GH), has called on its members in public universities to join the ongoing strike of by the Senior Staff Associations of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG).

According to TEWU of TUC, the decision is in “solidarity and especially on the non-payment of Tier 2 pension contributions by government that is outstanding for nine (9) months”,  

In a letter declaring their intention to join the strike, dated Monday, 22 January 2024, the TEWU of TUC noted: “It is obvious that the patience of the universities workers has waned and the continued lethargy of government agencies in addressing labour issues will not be entertained.”

The Union called on government “to immediately pay the nine months Tier 2 pension contribution arrears of workers of the Public universities to ensure dignified retirement”.

The Senior Staff Association of Public Universities in Ghana (SSA-UoG) and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff (FUSSAG) have initiated an indefinite strike, citing the government's perceived neglect of their welfare.

The move is a response to several grievances, including the government's alleged failure to address issues concerning pensions and the claimed unauthorised cancellation of their overtime allowance.

During a press briefing at the University of Ghana in Accra on Wednesday, 17 January 2024, Mr Isaac Donkoh, the National Chairman of SSA-UoG, underscored that the government should bear the consequences of their decision.

"As leadership, we are compelled to declare indefinite strike action. The reason is that the government has not released our tier 2 pension to our fund managers since February 2023. Urgently, we demand that the government release all outstanding arrears to our fund managers and pay the accrued interest with a three per cent interest rate," Donkor said.

He added: "We also insist that the government reevaluate the accrued interest between 2010 and 2016, as agreed upon on July 25th, 2022. Additionally, we call on the government to promptly settle all outstanding arrears for our pensioned staff from 2020 to 2023. Lastly, we urge the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to retract the letters dated 7th November and 20th November respectively."

Sompaonline.com