Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe believes that members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) feel treated badly in their impasse with the National Labour Commission (NLC) resulting in their strike action.
He said the NLC has not been open on the matter indicating that the court injunction was sudden and did not offer the opportunity for a win-win situation at the negotiation table.
He, however, urged the UTAG to reconsider the adverse effects their ongoing strike causes to the academic calendar.
Lawyer Tamakloe made this call in reaction to a statement asking the UTAG to suspend their strike action.
In a separate development, the NLC is threatening to file a case of contempt against the leadership of UTAG if it continues to carry on with its strike action.
The issue is worsening by the day and has attracted huge media attention.
Discussing the matter on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana, Lawyer Tamakloe noted that UTAG members have expressed that their parties have not been candid in their dealings with them.
“Put in the proper context you will realize that the UTAG members are still on strike in the various public universities and I have heard them where for instance they’ve made the point that the National Labor Commission has not demonstrated candor relative to how they’ve engaged them,” he stated.
Lawyer Tamakloe indicated that the NLC has been dictating the pace in the negotiations so far giving little room to operate. He said it has become a one-horse race.
“They also raised the issue that the National Labor Commission has not treated them fairly because the whole conversation appears one-sided. There is nothing on the government to basically respond to their needs. It is an employer-employee relationship. Now you are making it look like it is only the employee that is at fault or has done something for which reason you are getting a restraining order from the court against them,” he noted.
The legal practitioner expressed worry that the academic calendar has come to a standstill due to the issues at stake emphasizing that various stakeholders must come to a compromise and reach agreeable terms.
“I will once again plead our brothers and sisters in the various universities. Legon is supposed to have started their exams however because of these problems; they are having to either reschedule the exam to God knows what date. That does not augur well for the academic calendar. So once again I will plead with the parties involved that government should just listen to them, reach out and possibly do a fifty-fifty understanding with them so we can take this conversation forward,” he emphasized.
By: Ernest Tetteh Kabu | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana