The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has instructed all senior management staff of public universities taking part in the ongoing strike by the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) and the Technical University Senior Administrators Association of Ghana (TUSAAG) to return to duty without delay.
GTEC stated that senior managers hold executive, administrative and policy roles that carry obligations to their institutions and that, under the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), their involvement in industrial action may be limited.
The Commission noted that the participation of top officials in the strike could lead to a conflict of interest, especially since they are expected to engage unions on behalf of their universities and to keep core operations running.
“Vice-Chancellors are required to submit to the Commission, within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of this directive, a register of all Senior Management Officials who have participated in the industrial action and have failed to comply with this directive,” GTEC said in a memo to public universities issued on Monday, August 17.
The Commission also cautioned universities against permitting the strike to interfere with vital institutional and student services. These include end-of-semester exams, audits, internet and telecom services, student portals and registration systems, health care, cleaning and janitorial services, finance, payroll processing and other critical payments.
It warned that any illegal disruption of essential services could amount to a violation of the Labour Act and other applicable laws.Meanwhile, the GAUA strike is already impacting academic work at some public universities, with the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and other schools reported to have postponed scheduled exams.GTEC has called on members of GAUA and TUSAAG to show restraint and to carry out their industrial action within legal limits.
