The leadership of the Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-GH) has vowed to prevent any disputed representative from attending a Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) council meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 19, 2024.
TEWU-GH, which separated from the Teachers and Education Workers Union of the Trade Union Congress (TEWU-TUC) in June 2022, has been at odds with KNUST management over council representation. The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) stepped in to mediate the disagreement and ensure transparency.
At a press conference on KNUST campus, TEWU-GH leaders voiced their concerns upon discovering a brochure listing TEWU-TUC’s Michael Ayuune as a council representative.
National Chairman of TEWU-GH, Sulemana Abdul Rahman, criticized KNUST management for allegedly disregarding a directive from GTEC.
“When we got information that the university council has invited someone who is said to be representing some people, we reported the issue to GTEC, which directed management of KNUST to stay any action until the matter is fully resolved.
We believe the flouting of the directive of GTEC is gross disrespect because at what point will your regulator give you instruction and then you violate it without recourse to their letter?” Sulemana questioned.
Sulemana also highlighted the disparity in representation, noting that TEWU-GH has over 1,000 members at KNUST compared to the approximately 20 members under TEWU-TUC.”
The reality is that the person they have invited to the council is representing just about 20 individuals, and TEWU-GH is representing over a thousand people on KNUST campus. The union is about numbers and not just the name.
“If it were not that we were law-abiding people, a lot of things would have happened because you are denying a thousand people representation and allowing a leader of some 25 people to represent the thousand,” he warned.
Speaking to a gathered crowd at the KNUST commercial area, Sulemana urged members to remain vigilant and announced that TEWU-GH would ensure proper representation even if the council meeting was relocated abroad.
The union demanded the immediate removal of Michael Ayuune’s name from the university’s brochure listing council members and called on KNUST management to sign a letter of compliance agreeing that no union would attend council meetings until GTEC resolves the issue.
TEWU-GH leaders cautioned that failure to meet these demands could lead to avoidable conflicts and disturbances on campus. They expressed hope that their concerns would be addressed promptly.
