Senior Administrators in Ghanaian Technical Universities Declare Strike Over Unpaid Allowance
- TUSAAG has declared an indefinite strike over the government’s failure to release a 17-month-old research allowance
- The industrial action followed the government's failure to release the research allowance, which is owed to them for close to two years
- The industrial action affects all 10 Technical Universities in Ghana, disrupting key administrative services including finance, admissions, and HR
The Technical Universities Senior Administrators Association of Ghana (TUSAAG) has embarked on an indefinite strike.
The strike action, which began on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, follows the government's failure to release the One-Time Research Allowance owed to its members for close to 17 months.
Source: Getty Images
A communiqué issued on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, by its National Executive Council, TUSAAG, stated that the allowance was negotiated to compensate its members for their research and publications required for promotion.
According to them, the refusal of the government to pay the allowance constituted a “blatant breach of the agreement.”
They added that it also demonstrated a lack of respect for the essential contributions of administrators to tertiary education in Ghana.
TUSAAG further claims that they have engaged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) on the matter, without yielding any results.
The association also added that several attempts were made to meet the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, but the meeting never happened, leaving them with no other option than to strike.
How TUSAAG's strike will impact technical universities
The TUSAAG strike will result in a complete withdrawal of administrative services across all 10 Technical Universities.
Some administrative functions, such as finance, admissions, examinations, human resources, registry, and general administration, are expected to be severely disrupted during the period of the strike action.
Despite the strike action, the association has expressed its willingness to engage the government for a resolution to the delayed allowance payment.
University teacher unions threaten strike
In a related development, three major university teacher unions have threatened to withdraw their services if the government fails to pay their book and research allowance.
The unions making the demands are the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), and Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG).
In a joint statement, the university teacher unions stated that their members have become frustrated and discontented over the delay in payment of the book and research allowance.
They also said they would not accept any extension of payment beyond September 2025.
Source: UGC
UTAG suspends strike
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) called off its strike, protesting government inaction on illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
The union described the suspension as a difficult but necessary choice in the students' interests.
Some UTAG members had already urged the union's national executives to end the ongoing strike and subsequently voted in favour of the same.
In a statement, UTAG said it remained committed to advocating for effective measures to address the illegal mining crisis in the country.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
