If the Ministry of Finance does not approve the payment of agreed-upon allowances by August 8, 2024, three unions have vowed to go on strike on August 9, 2024.
The Teachers and Educational Workers Union of the Trade Union Congress (TEWU-TUC), the Federation of Senior Staff Associations of Ghana (FUSSAG), and the Senior Staff Association-Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) are the unions involved.
The Finance Ministry’s failure to send out a letter directing the payment of the Vehicle Maintenance Allowance (VMA) and other associated allowances has drawn the group’s attention.
“The Unions have given the government (Ministry) up to the close of work on Thursday, August 8th to release the letter,” the three unions stated in a statement dated Monday, August 5. If this isn’t done, on August 9, 2024, the Unions will have to resort to industrial action. The TEWU (TUC), FUSSAG, and SSA-UoG are dedicated to defending the rights of their members and won’t let up until justice is done.
“The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has done the needful by writing to the Ministry for Finance for payment to be effected. We have tried to engage the Ministry on several occasions to release a letter to that effect so our members could be paid but the Ministry has refused.”
They bemoaned the fact that while universities directly employed by the Controller and Accountant General were paid, including any arrears, universities receiving government subsidies were not.
The unions claimed that the universities’ payment of the new rate has been stopped by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).
“Now the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission is ordering the universities not to pay the new rate until a letter from the Ministry authorizing the payment is released. In that case, even those who are receiving the new rate are going to be denied the new rate while those who are on the Controller payroll still remain where they are.
“The Unions believe that the government is using Machiavellian tactics to deny us of an agreement reached with them.”
