Accra Poly Lecturers ignore strike action

Accra, Oct 11, GNA - Some teachers at the Accra Polytechnic, were on Monday found lecturing, despite last Friday's directive by the national executive of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), to members to embark on a strike action to back their demand for the upward review of salaries.

When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the campus between 1000 and 1100 hours, some of the teachers had completed their first lectures, while others were seen at the lecture halls.

In an interview with the GNA, some of the teachers said they had not been officially informed about the strike action. They suggested the need for negotiations to resolve the impasse over low salaries.

Mr James B. Annan, acting POTAG Chairman of the Accra campus, told the GNA in a telephone interview that he was yet to formally inform his colleagues about the industrial action.

He said he had sent letters to the Ministries' of Education and Finance and the National Council for Tertiary Education, to inform them formally of the strike action.

He said a media briefing would be held in Tamale to brief the media on the issues at stake.

The Central Executive Committee of Polytechnic Local Union of the Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) earlier on Saturday gave a seven days notice within which the Conference of Polytechnic Principals (COPP) should convene a meeting to thrash out issues on salaries and conditions of service.

In a resolution, the Union said COPP had failed in convening a meeting to proposals for salaries and conditions of service as agreed upon per the memorandum of understanding signed between COPP and TEWU on Friday, September 10, 2004.

"We will however, not accept an effective date later than Monday, March 1, 2004", the resolution warned.

It said if by the close of work "on Thursday, October 14, 2004, the aforementioned demands are not met we shall advise ourselves."