UTAG Large Sum Demand Will Not Happen

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Earl Ankrah, has thrown a spanner in the spokes of the striking University Teachers Association (UTAG) by stating emphatically that they would not get the single payment of the total amount owed them by government as they are demanding. According to Mr. Ankrah, �the Commission has agreed that is has to pay that money, but UTAG is not the only group that is benefiting from the Interim Market Premium Agreement, there are a whole lot of other groups and we invited them all around the table to discuss it. The groups came for two days but UTAG showed up for one day and refused to come the second day because they want this lump sum agreement�. �We went ahead to agree with the rest of the groups, we have signed and implementation is starting this May. So how do we turn around and come to UTAG and say ok, you are going to get your one lump sum. All the other groups want the one lump sum but the thing is such that we had to sit down and negotiate. �Their members have accepted it and they are going to take the payment. How come UTAG is saying no and how are we going to tell the other group that UTAG is going to take that special treatment and you can�t. It means they would all come on strike and we would have a bigger problem on our hands as a country,� he explained. Members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) on Tuesday began the industrial action to demand full payment of accumulated allowance since 2012. But government has proposed to pay the amount in three installments, on the grounds that there was no money to pay the allowances at one time. This proposal, the leaders of UTAG have rejected on the grounds that government has made provision for an amount of GHC 36 million for the payment of former Members Parliament who did not return to the House after the 2012 December 7 and 8 elections. They are to take home Gh� 211,000, while those who retained their seats got between Gh� 270,000 and Gh� 275,000, depending on their status in the House. Earl Ankrah has however made a passionate appeal to the leadership of UTAG to rescind their decision and agree to the terms of payment the Commission has tabled. �It is unfortunate for me to take the duty of breaking this bad news; that lump sum payment is not gonna happen,� divulged.