The Senior Staff Association of Public Universities in Ghana (SSA-UoG) and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff (FUSSAG) have jointly declared an indefinite strike with immediate effect, citing the government's disregard for their welfare as the primary reason.
The strike action is a result of the government's failure to address crucial concerns raised by the senior staff, including issues related to pensions and the alleged unlawful cancellation of their overtime allowance. The decision was announced at a news conference held at the University of Ghana in Accra.
Isaac Donkoh, the National Chairman of the SSA-UoG, expressed the staff's frustration, emphasizing the government's accountability for the consequences of their actions.
Mr Donkoh outlined the key demands of the senior staff, stating, “As leadership, we are forced to declare indefinite strike action. The reason is that the government has failed to release our tier 2 pension to our fund managers since February 2023.”
He continued, “So we are asking the government to, as a matter of urgency, release all the outstanding arrears to our fund managers and also pay the accrued interest with a three percent interest rate. We are also again asking the government to do a recalculation on the accrued interest between the years 2010 and 2016 as we all agreed on July 25th, 2022.”
The senior staff is also demanding the immediate payment of all outstanding arrears to staff on pension from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, they are calling on the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to withdraw specific letters dated November 7th and November 20th, 2023.
In light of these unresolved issues, the senior staff has instructed their members to refrain from going to work until further notice. The indefinite strike is a response to what they perceive as the government's failure to address their legitimate concerns regarding pensions and allowances.
