Four public university labor organizations have announced their intent to go on a historic strike starting on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, they said: “This provides the employer and all stakeholders in tertiary education in Ghana one vital week to reverse the decision that aims to adversely compromise the conditions of employment of university workers.”

The unions convened on September 28 at the University of Professional Studies in Accra, where they intended to begin the strike on October 5, but they have agreed to push the date of commencement back so that they can fully prepare for the strike action.

According to them, the government will have more time to reconsider its “blatant general alteration of agreed conditions of service in the light of the unfriendly economic conditions” as a result of the commencement date’s rescheduling.

In a statement released earlier, the unions added, “We know the language that readily seeps in their brain, and we will utter it in one (1) week if they fail to hearken to their own commitment with us.”

The unions urge the government to, among other things, resolve the payment of the Book and Research Allowance for 2022, put into effect the March agreement about the implementation of the market premium, or review the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2023.

This is not the first time that TEWU GAUA and particularly UTAG have gone on strike this year or in the previous year. Most students are concerned that the strike action may continue and become as protracted as that of ASUU, the organization responsible for lecturers in Nigeria.

The academic calendar of the majority of schools, which are attempting to recover from the negative effects of Covid 19, will be further disrupted by a joint strike action by all the major stakeholders in the Universities across Ghana. This strike action, if undertaken will result in a complete shutdown of both academic and administrative activities throughout Universities in Ghana.