NLC orders striking unions to call off action immediately

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has directed striking university workers to call off their ongoing industrial action with immediate effect to allow for further engagement on their grievances.

The directive followed the failure of three out of four unions that declared an intended indefinite strike to appear before the Commission, despite being duly summoned.

The Commission had earlier summoned the unions and their employers to appear before it on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, after receiving notice of an intended indefinite strike.

The summons also ordered the unions to stay the strike and any related industrial action pending the hearing.

When the case was called, only the Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TUAAG), one of the four complainant unions, appeared.

TUAAG was represented by its Local President in Takoradi and the Local Vice Chairman in Accra, who indicated that they were acting on behalf of the National President.

The other unions — Senior Staff Association of the University of Ghana (SSA-UoG), the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union of the Trades Union Congress (TEWU-TUC), and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff Association of Ghana (FUSSAG) — failed or refused to appear before the Commission.

The respondents were represented by the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and a Senior Legal Officer from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), among others.

In their submission, the representatives of TUAAG told the Commission that their union was not on strike, although it was a signatory to the notice of intended industrial action.

However, the respondents informed the Commission that SSA-UoG had declared an indefinite strike on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, and that the action had effectively placed all the unions involved on strike.

In its ruling, the Commission ordered all striking workers to immediately call off the strike, stressing that the substantive issues in dispute could not be heard or determined while the industrial action persisted.

The Commission further directed TUAAG to formally notify it in writing if the union was not participating in the strike, to clearly disassociate itself from the action.

The unions have accordingly been advised to comply with the directive in the interest of industrial harmony and dialogue.