The National Labour Commission (NLC), has described the strike declared by the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) as illegal, saying it has failed to observe procedures for embarking on strike, pursuant to Sections 159 and 160 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).
It has, therefore, asked TEWU to call off the action immediately and resume work.
A statement issued and copied The Ghanaian Times, by Dr. Bernice A. Welbeck, acting Executive Secretary for the Commission, said on Wednesday, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the NLC met with TEWU led by its General Secretary, on one hand, and the FWSC led by its Chief Executive on the other hand over the ongoing nationwide strike by TEWU in the public universities.
It said should the union fail to call off the strike, the employer could apply the necessary sanctions as prescribed under Section 168(4) of Act 651.
The statement directed parties to report back to the commission on January 27, the outcome of its meeting on Wednesday, January 21.
TEWU declared a strike last Monday to press home demand for a redress of inconsistencies in the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure.
According to the union, since the implementation of the pay policy in 2010, there had been “distortions, disparities and widening salary gap” between junior and senior staff at the public universities.
The industrial action it said was precipitated by the failure of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to act on the recommendation of a committee tasked to review and make recommendations on the implementation of the pay policy.
The committee’s report, TEWU said, “revealed that there was a real gap between the junior and senior staff that needed to be bridged”.
“But Fair Wages and Salaries Commission failed to act upon the committee’s recommendations,” it stated.
<<Print>>