According to the Association, the strike has become a necessary avenue to have their grievances addressed.
The National President of TUTAG, Dr. Michael Akurugu, in an interview on Citi Fm, said the strike is in force despite a planned meeting with the National Labour Commission.
“We only received an invitation to attend a meeting on Wednesday in which it indicated that it heard that we are going to embark on a strike effective Monday, June 14, 2021, and that we should refrain from it. Declaring a strike or calling off a strike takes a whole process”, he said.
“It is a congress decision for us to go on strike, and so we are going to meet the NLC on Wednesday and listen to what they have to say, but for now nothing is going to change until we know what the NLC has for us.”
However, the NLC has called on TUTAG to come the negotiating table to discuss their grievances rather than a strike.
The NLC in a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Ofosu Asamoah, said TUTAG has not exhausted due process. It, therefore, asked the union to abort its intention.
“The National Labour Commission in the exercise of its powers under Section 139 (4) of Act 651 wishes to draw the attention of the Leadership of TUTAG to Sections 159 and 16 of Act 651 which provides grounds and the process for the declaration of a strike and hereby advises TUTAG to refrain from any/or all intended industrial action.”
The Association is protesting among other things poor conditions of service and the frustrations the technical Universities encounter in getting accreditation for academic programmes.