The government has until June 30 to address concerns of the condition of services and welfare of members across Ghana's public universities, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Universities Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has warned.

The ultimatum was issued by the association in a formal statement dated June 18, following UTAG's statutory quarterly meeting held on Thursday, 18 June, at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ho, where the Council reviewed matters relating to member welfare, the governance of the Association, and the advancement of higher education in Ghana.

“UTAG has warned that if the outstanding matters are not satisfactorily resolved by 30 June 2026, all branches will, within five (5) working days of this release, begin consultations to secure the necessary mandates from members for appropriate industrial action in accordance with the UTAG Constitution and the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651)”, parts of the statement said.The Association described the delays on the part of the government in addressing their concerns as “unacceptable”

“UTAG says the continuing delays are unacceptable and risk further undermining confidence in the collective bargaining process”, it said.

Issues to be addressed

One of the concerns of UTAG is the government’s delay in signing the Interim Salary Adjustment Agreement for temporary relief, as far as their salary increment is concerned, while they wait for a review in January next year, as well as the delay and regularisation of post requirement contracts.

“The government has yet to sign the Interim Salary Adjustment Agreement, despite the successful conclusion of negotiations and the agreement of all parties. The interim adjustment is intended to provide temporary relief pending the comprehensive salary review to be undertaken by the Independent Emoluments Commission (IEC), expected to take effect from January 2027.

“Challenges relating to post-retirement contract renewals and academic staff rollover persist following the reversal of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) directive. Continued delays in the approval, regularisation, and placement of affected staff on payroll by GTEC, CAGD, and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) are adversely affecting staffing and the effective operation of universities. The University component of OTSA for staff of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) remains unpaid.

The processing and payment of the 2026 Book and Research Allowance have been unduly delayed, contrary to established practice,” the statement noted.

Expectations from the government before June 30

Consequently, UTAG is urging the government to take immediate steps to sign and implement the Interim Salary Adjustment Agreement, resolve all post-retirement contract and rollover challenges affecting universities, pay the government component of OTSA to Research Fellows and Academic Librarians, facilitate the payment of the university component of OTSA for UESD staff and settle all outstanding promotion arrears. It also expects the government to facilitate the payment of salary arrears for the Institute of Languages and the Institute of Film and Television staff of the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC).UTAG noted that it is open to negotiation and discussion; however, any delays on the part of the government can disrupt the harmony in tertiary institutions across the country, hence urging the government to honour its part of the bargain.

“... persistent failure to honour duly negotiated agreements undermines confidence in the collective bargaining process and threatens industrial harmony within Ghana's public universities.

UTAG therefore calls on the Government to demonstrate good faith by honouring, without further delay, all commitments made to university teachers.