Members of the Senior Staff Association of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have joined a nationwide strike to protest changes to their conditions of service by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The industrial action, which began on Tuesday, is being observed across all public universities in the country, including the KNUST, where members of the association, clad in red bands, gathered to urge their colleagues to stay at home until further notice.
National Chairman of the University Senior Staff Association, George Ansong, outlined three key issues necessitating the indefinite strike.
The first concern stems from what he described as the unilateral alteration of their conditions of service by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission without consultation.
“Our first issue has to do with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission altering our conditions of service without engaging the association. We cannot sit unconcerned. Until these conditions are restored and meaningful negotiations are held with us, we remain on strike,” he stated.
Mr. Ansong further disclosed that the strike is also a result of government’s failure to pay Tier Two pension contributions for senior staff from August to December 2024, despite payments being made for 2025.
“All correspondence from our fund managers have yielded no results. We cannot sit down and allow our Tier Two pension contributions to remain with the government,” he said.
He added that existing pension regulations stipulate a three percent penalty for default in payment, a demand the association insists must be honoured alongside the outstanding arrears.
“The law is clear. Any default in payment attracts a three percent penalty, and we are demanding that the government pays the outstanding months together with the penalty,” he emphasized.
The third issue, according to Mr. Ansong, concerns staff of the University of Mines and Technology–Kumasi (UNIMAK), a merger of three institutions into a fully-fledged university.
He noted that since the establishment of UNIMAK, staff have not been paid their rightful salaries and allowances.
“We have engaged the government through letters and meetings. Although they were placed on the correct salary levels this year, government has failed to pay the arrears owed them since the institution attained university status,” he lamented.
Mr. Ansong concluded that until these concerns are adequately addressed by the government, members of the Senior Staff Association will remain on strike.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
