The Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, Ing Ben Arthur, said the doors of the commission are open for engagements on the issues.
“When Covid was in place and nobody was going to the classroom the government kept faith with you and paid you,” he said on the Key Points on TV3/3FM Saturday, January 15.
He added ” Let us engage and resolve these things peacefully. They have their own constituencies, power struggles, agitations, among themselves.”
But reacting to his comments, Dr Asare Asante Annor who is the UTAG National Secretary dismissed his assertions saying the comments by Ing Arthur were not factual.
“[Ing Arthur] is not representing the fact right. Everybody knows we were online teaching, we have even worked without taking a break.”
A Labour Consultant, Austin Garmey for his part blamed the recent labour agitations on the lack of communication from the quarters of the government.
He said that the labour law mandates the government to keep the communication channels with the unions active at all times but that appears to have failed to lead to the strikes.
“We are not implementing the laws,” he said also on the same show and added that “communication is the problem. Both the employer and the unions are not communicating.
“The employer should keep the opening channel, I urge the employers to communicate.”
The National Labour Commission (NLC) had ruled that the strike by the UTAG and CETAG is illegal.
This was after a meeting with the labour unions and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations was held on Thursday, January 13.
After the meeting, Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireku Brobbey told journalists that the government is expecting the unions to do the needful.
“In the spirit of transparency and very mutual respect for them, they have assured them that whatever allowance is due them because they were captured in the 2022 budget January they are going to be paid. Therefore the Commission has directed that they go and call off the strike immediately.
“This is something that is good for Ghana expecting that schools had just reopened, parents had just seen of their wards to the various institution. I am glad that CETAG has also been asked so let us expect that they do the needful and then we have peace.”
He added ” The National Labour Commission is a state institution. Indeed if labour institutions are litigating there must be somebody to arbitrate. This is the legally mandated institution, they have heard us and they have issued their directive. It is my expectation that UTAG will also call off their striker.”
CETAG members suspended teaching service starting Thursday, January 6.
The National Council entreated all of its members to comply with this directive.
This action came on the heels of, among other things, “The failure by the government to implement the 2017-2020conditiosn of service as agreed,” a statement said.
UTAG also embarked on their action Monday, January 10.
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