Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Apaak, has appealed to striking university unions to call off their indefinite industrial action to protect teaching and learning across Ghana’s public universities.
Dr Apaak made the appeal on Friday, February 7, 2026, after chairing a meeting at the Ministry of Education on behalf of the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, with representatives of the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU-TUC), and the Federation of University Senior Staff Associations of Ghana (FUSSAG).
The meeting brought together officials from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), led by its Chief Executive, Dr George Smith-Graham. In a Facebook post following the engagement, Dr Apaak described the discussions as frank and constructive, focusing on issues that triggered the ongoing strike by senior university staff.
The three unions declared an indefinite strike with immediate effect on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, citing unfair changes to their conditions of service and the government’s failure to settle outstanding financial obligations. The industrial action has disrupted lectures, examinations, and routine university operations across several public institutions.
The unions are demanding payment of four years of salary arrears and allowances arising from the upgrading of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), the Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL), and the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) into the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC). They are also seeking payment of five months of outstanding Tier Two pension contributions from August to December 2024, along with a three percent penalty for late remittance in accordance with National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) regulations.
In a joint statement signed by SSA-UoG National Chairman George Ansong, FUSSAG General Secretary Jonathan Kabu, and TEWU-TUC National Chairperson Salamatu Mahamah Brimah, the unions identified the primary trigger for the industrial action as a unilateral decision by the FWSC to alter agreed conditions of service, particularly the payment of overtime allowances to senior staff of public universities.
According to the unions, SSA-UoG signed an agreement with the FWSC and the government in 2021 recognizing senior staff of public universities as eligible for overtime allowances. However, in May 2025, the University of Ghana suspended the payment of overtime and replaced it with a call-in allowance, citing financial constraints and objections from the Audit Service.
The unions stated that despite drawing the university’s attention to the existing agreement, their concerns were ignored, leading to threats of industrial action. The dispute intensified when FWSC Chief Executive Dr Smith-Graham reportedly informed them that overtime under the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) was never compulsory and was designed primarily for junior staff.
Dr Smith-Graham, in an interview on Accra based Citi FM monitored by GBC Ghana Online, stated categorically that his outfit has not altered any conditions of service as alleged by the striking unions, describing their claims as unfounded. He argued that senior staff are entitled to a call-in allowance rather than overtime pay under the SSPP.
The FWSC is a state institution mandated to regulate salaries, wages, and working conditions for public sector workers. It is responsible for setting pay policies, allowances, and benefits across government funded institutions, including universities.
The National Labour Commission intervened on Wednesday, February 4, summoning the unions and their employers to appear before it at 2:00 PM. However, only the Technical Universities Administrators Association of Ghana (TUAAG) was represented at the hearing, with SSA-UoG, TEWU-TUC, and FUSSAG failing to attend. TUAAG confirmed it was not participating in the strike despite being listed in the joint notice of action.
Dr Apaak emphasized that the government remains committed to dialogue and consensus building, stressing that sustained engagement among all parties is essential to restoring calm on campuses and ensuring that students are not unduly affected by the dispute.
The ongoing strike has already had significant implications for academic and administrative work, with lectures, examinations, and routine university operations disrupted in several institutions across the country. Students and parents have expressed concern about potential delays to the academic calendar.
SSA-UoG local chapters at various universities, including the University for Development Studies, have fully complied with and endorsed the directive issued by the national executives to proceed with the industrial action. Regional coordinators have confirmed that members are withholding services until their demands are met.
The current strike represents the latest in a series of industrial actions by university staff unions over the past two years. In January 2024, the same unions threatened to strike over similar concerns regarding Tier Two pension funds, vehicle maintenance allowances, and overtime pay before calling off the action following government intervention.
In August 2024, the three unions also called off an intended strike scheduled to commence on August 9 after the government extended an upward adjustment in the Vehicle Maintenance Allowance to their members. At the time, the unions expressed appreciation to the government for responding favorably to their request.
The resolution of the current impasse remains uncertain as both sides maintain their positions. The unions insist they will not return to work until their demands are fully addressed, while the FWSC maintains that no binding agreement on overtime payments exists for senior staff under current policy frameworks.
