FWSC Urges Universities Of Ghana Senior Staff Association To Call Off Strike

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has urged the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana to call off its indefinite industrial strike.

The Association in a press statement had announced its intention to embark on a strike action starting January 21, 2021, to back its demand for the National Labour Commission to resolve some issues with their Conditions of Service.

But the FWSC in a letter dated January 22, 2021, signed by its Chief Executive, Dr Edward Kwapong, and addressed to the National Chairman of the Association, says they should call off the strike “and meet with FWSC as soon as possible early next week”.

The Commission expressed surprise at the action, as according to the Chief Executive, they invited the Association and had discussions with them after receiving their letter dated January 5, 2021, officially informing the FWSC of the granting of bargaining certificate to the Association by the Chief Labour Officer.

The letter indicated that it was the FWSC’s understanding that, the Association would reach out to the leadership of FUSSAG to be able to determine the manner in which the Union would collaborate with each other in engaging the employer.

“We are therefore, extremely surprised that while waiting, you wrote to the National Labour Commission on 15th January, 2021, informing them of your intention to embark on a strike action”, it stressed.

The Commission added that negotiation with FUSSAG on Conditions of Service of their members started on September 17, 2019, noting that, as part of the said negotiations, they had covered all demands except two.

The letter stated that, “Incidentally, there are two (2) outstanding issues comprising issues raised in your press release for which we need to engage”.

Source: GNA