National Labour Commission orders UCC Senior Staff to end strike

The Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSAUoG) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) have been on strike since Thursday, April 13, demanding payment of negotiated allowances and promotions for members.

However, the National Labour Commission (NLC) has directed the UCC branch of the SSAUoG to call off the strike within five days, stating that it cannot address the Association’s grievances unless the strike is called off by leadership. This directive was issued during a meeting between the Commission, management, and the senior staff leadership on Wednesday, April 19. The ongoing strike has affected students on campus.

According to the Executive Secretary of NLC, Ofosu Asam, the Commission has directed the striking senior staff of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to call off their strike to enable the Commission to hear the matter. As negotiations cannot proceed while the strike is ongoing, the matter has been adjourned for one week.

A meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, to continue the arbitration, but only after the strike has been called off. National President of SSAUoG, Zakari Mohammed, admitted that the UCC branch received a letter from NLC advising them not to proceed with the strike, but they had no option as management had failed to address their grievances.

According to him, both parties were in breach of the directive as the UCC management had been instructed to engage with the senior staff earlier, and they failed to do so.

The UCC Chairman of SSAUoG, Sandy Kumi Sinatra, justified the strike action, stating that it was declared before the directive from the National Labour Commission (NLC) to stay action came in. He added that they did notify the NLC about the strike.

However, he pointed out that the NLC had earlier directed the management to engage with the senior staff, which they failed to do. The senior staff reported this to the NLC and gave management a deadline to engage them. After the deadline passed, the senior staff lawfully declared the strike.

According to Sandy Kumi Sinatra, the decision to call off the strike rests with the National Executive Council (NEC) and not with him as an individual. He emphasized that the UCC management was also in breach of the NLC’s directive, which led to the strike action.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh