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The KNUST branch of the Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-GH) has raised concerns over the nomination of a contentious representative to the Council of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The union argues that Mr. Michael Ayuune, who has been nominated by the Teachers and Education Workers Union of the Trade Union Congress (TEWU of TUC), is not eligible for the position due to unresolved issues between TEWU-GH and TEWU of TUC.
In a letter to the university management, signed by Doreen Mould Ayiku, Secretary of KNUST TEWU-GH, the union urged the university to reject the disputed nominee to avoid industrial conflict.
“TEWU-GH Members are agitating that any attempt by the University Authority to accept the nomination from TEWU of TUC as their representative on KNUST Council will lead to industrial disharmony on the KNUST campus,” the letter stated. “We therefore plead with the University Authority to wait until the matter is resolved so as not to bring any industrial disharmony to the KNUST campus.”
TEWU-GH has previously complained about the university management’s reluctance to recognize the union since it severed ties with TEWU of TUC in June 2022. The union leadership has protested this stance, providing documents of incorporation secured under the Labor Act, with widespread approval from its constituents in all sixteen public universities in Ghana.
In response, the Ghana Tertiary Education Council (GTEC) has intervened, setting up a committee with members from both sides, chaired by GTEC, to resolve issues related to council representation and asset sharing. According to reliable information from union leadership, GTEC assured both unions during a meeting that it had halted the swearing-in of union representatives on university councils. However, GTEC directed all current union representatives on councils to complete their tenures.