Three unions have issued threats of going on strike on August 9, 2024, if the Ministry of Finance does not approve the payment of agreed-upon allowances by August 8, 2024.

The unions are: Teachers and Educational Workers Union of the Trade Union Congress (TEWU-TUC), Federation of Senior Staff Associations of Ghana (FUSSAG), and Senior Staff Association-Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG).

The organizations are worried that the finance ministry has not sent out a letter directing the payment of their Vehicle Maintenance Allowance (VMA) and other relevant allowances.

The three unions, in a statement dated Monday, August 5, said, “The Unions have given the government (Ministry) up to the close of work on Thursday 8th August to release the letter. Failure to do so will result in the Unions being forced to take industrial action on the 9th of August, 2024. The SSA-UoG, FUSSAG and TEWU (TUC) are committed to fighting for the rights of its members and will not rest until justice is served.

“The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has done the needful by writing to the Ministry of Finance for payment to be effected. We have tried to engage the Ministry on several occasions to release a letter to that effect so our members could be paid but the Ministry has refused,” citinewsroom.com reports.

They also bemoaned the fact that while universities directly employed by the Controller and Accountant General were paid, including any arrears, universities receiving government subsidies were not.

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), according to the unions, has stopped the universities from paying the revised fee.

“Now the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission is ordering the universities not to pay the new rate until a letter from the Ministry authorising the payment is released. In that case, even those who are receiving the new rate are going to be denied the new rate while those who are on the Controller payroll still remain where they are.

“The Unions believe that the government is using Machiavellian tactics to deny us of an agreement reached with them,” they added.

KA/AE

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