Don’t strike; your allowances will come soon – Yankah tells UTAG

Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah has called on members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to rescind their decision to embark on strike.

“I am requesting them to untie the red bands and lower the red flags [because] we are working towards the welfare of UTAG,” he told Citi News.

UTAG, on Wednesday, threatened to strike if the government failed to pay their Book and Research allowances by July 31. But Prof. Yankah has said the allowances are being processed.

“Within the next week or so, they ought to be receiving their allowances,” he assured.

“The Controller and Accountant General’s department has processed material from the Ministry of Finance. There are two or three batches of documentation that are provided. The first two were received and have been processed and should be at the Controller and Accountant General’s department at the moment.”

UTAG’s cry

Addressing the press, the UTAG President, Dr. Eric Opoku, said the group “has observed with dismay the inability of the government to pay the 2017/2018 academic year Book and Research Allowances to its members as of today, July 25”.

He said the government has been lackadaisical towards the payment of the allowance despite UTAG’s letter to the Finance Minister and the Education Minister on July 7, to effect payment by July 16 to forestall any industrial action by members.

The group says their plea to government “has gone unheeded and the Ministry of Finance has refused to formally respond to (their) letter”, indicating that government’s inactivity has been “condescending over the years” regarding the payment of the allowance.

Source: citifmonline.com