Fifty-Seven members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), describing themselves as the Silent Majority of UTAG, has called on the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) to call off the strike by Friday, October 18, 2024.

The group also wants the national leadership to constitute a team that would monitor the implementation of the government’s roadmap to address the galamsey menace.

Addressing a press conference at the press centre yesterday, the Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor Isaac Boadi, on behalf of the group, said NEC of UTAG should take leadership in inviting all presidential candidates, including parliamentary candidates in mining constituencies, to sign and publicly declare their support for the national actions being taken to address illegal mining in Ghana.  

“We wish to put on record that, our intention is not to undermine the efforts of leadership but to ensure that the right thing is done at all times in the interest of the association and the country”.

“We remain committed to working together towards a resolution that protects the interests of all members while maintaining unity within the union and the country at large,” the group said.

It also commended Ghanaians for their collective resolve to address the menace of galamsey once and for all.

“We call on the media, presidential and parliamentary candidates, our revered chiefs, youth in mining communities, the security forces, and the entire Ghanaian populace to work together to win this battle,” the group said.  

Made up of representatives from the CK.Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo; the University of Cape Coast; the University of Education, Winneba; the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; the University of Professional Studies, Accra; a representative of the University of Environment and Natural Resource and the University of Ghana, the group said the mandate given to NEC to join Organised Labour on strike to protest against galamsey had ended once organised labour took the decision to suspend it.

Prof. Boadi indicated that NEC acted in its own faith without consulting its members, adding that the overwhelming endorsement by 77 per cent to embark on the strike was in support of the earlier planned industrial action by the National Organised Labour and not UTAG’s strike.  

“Our endorsement was in support of Organised Labour to embark on a nationwide strike. UTAG as a member of Organised Labour was represented and took part in all deliberations.

 It is based on this that UTAG found itself a seat at the Organised Labour Meeting held on October 9, 2024, which led to the suspension of the intended nationwide strike based on the government’s response to the concerns of Organised Labour. It stands to reason that the mandate granted to the NEC expired with the suspension of the strike by Organised Labour,” he stated.

“We were, therefore, taken aback by the media commentary by some members of NEC and the subsequent declaration of an indefinite strike by NEC. Respectfully, this was not the mandate that the NEC of UTAG sought from member campuses,” Prof. Boadi said.

“It is our collective conviction that UTAG NEC should have referred the matter back to member campuses to allow for a separate motion to be voted on instead of the unilateral decision they took,” the group said.  

The Silent Majority of UTAG stressed that it appreciated the necessity and urgency to address the menace of galamsey, and were in full support of the call for an immediate nationwide ban on mining and prospecting for gold and other minerals in forest reserves, farms and rivers.  

Prof. Boadi said that was why membership of UTAG voted overwhelmingly in support of the motion for NEC of UTAG to declare an industrial action in support of the nationwide ban on mining and prospecting for gold and other minerals in forest reserves, farms and rivers” 
 

NUGS

The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), in a related development, also called on the government, UTAG and other relevant stakeholders to bring an end to the nationwide strike on various government university campuses.

Addressing the press in Accra yesterday, the NUGS President, Daniel Oppong Kyeremeh, said there should be an engagement among the parties to address illegal mining, commonly known as “galamsey” without disrupting the academic calendar.

He stated that the “strike will only harm students and further compound the challenges they faced. NUGS encouraged UTAG to prioritise the welfare of students, while contributing meaningfully to the national discourse on galamsey”.

Mr Kyeremeh appealed to UTAG to reconsider its stance on the strike and adopt more constructive and pragmatic measures to assist the government in its fight against galamsey.