There was no violation to the rules of natural justice - Court tells UTAG

Lawyers of UTAG had argued that the Labour Commission breached the rule of natural justice by not giving UTAG a hearing when issues of their grievances were communicated.

Is allowance instantly strangers applauded

The Accra High Court (Labour Division) has stated that the rules of natural justice were not breached by the Labour Commission when it ordered the Universities Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to comply with its directive to call off its strike.

In its ruling yesterday, March 9, 2022, the Court also declared the strike UTAG had embarked on as illegal.

It was the argument of lawyers of UTAG that the National Labour Commission (NLC) breached the rule of natural justice by not giving UTAG a hearing when issues of their grievances were communicated. 

Counsel for UTAG, Mr Kwasi Keli-Delata contended that per law, NLC should have given the association 14 days to respond before calling all the parties to appear before it for negotiations.

However in its ruling, the court held that all parties were given a fair hearing, and that parties agreed and held meetings on resolving the issues in the presence of their lawyers.

UTAG in the meantime has called off it’s strike indefinitely, it announced in a statement on Tuesday March 8, 2022.

“After careful assessment of the referenda results, interim agreements reached between UTAG and the Employer, and the various branch reports, the NEC of UTAG resolved to indefinitely suspend the strike action of 10th January 2022,” it said, but adding that it was going to hold government accountable to meeting its demands.