GAUA strike: NLC says administrators may have breached procedure for industrial action

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has expressed concerns over the procedure followed by the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) in initiating its ongoing industrial action. According to sources at the Commission, GAUA may not have complied with the legal requirements for industrial action, particularly the obligation to notify both employers and the NLC before commencing the strike.

This comes as university administrators push for action to address what they say are disparities in allowances and other conditions of service. The NLC has indicated that GAUA failed to formally notify the Commission and affected employers before withdrawing their services, in violation of Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651). Section 159 of the Act requires written notice before industrial action can be undertaken.

The notice is intended to provide an opportunity for the employer, union, or workers' association, and the NLC to engage and resolve the dispute. Sources at the NLC suggest that the required notice is crucial as it allows the Commission to intervene before workers proceed with a strike. The development may therefore raise questions about the procedural validity of GAUA's current industrial action, although the substantive concerns driving the strike remain unresolved.

GAUA maintains that it was compelled to take action due to prolonged disparities in allowances between university administrators and other staff categories. The association argues that its concerns have not been adequately addressed and that the strike aims to compel authorities to resolve the disparities. Meanwhile, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has criticized the industrial action, calling it unjustified and urging for a swift resolution to the dispute.

The NLC's intervention will focus on both the procedural issues surrounding the strike and the underlying grievances raised by the administrators.