POTAG strike: Court rules November 12

Friday, November 5, 2010 (Page 16/17)

THE Labour and Industrial Division of the Fast Track High Court will on Friday, November 12, 2010, decide whether or not to order members of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) to end their strike.
The court would also decide whether or not to grant a request from the NLC to order POTAG to submit itself to compulsory arbitration with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The presiding judge, Mr Justice Kwabena Asuman-Adu, fixed the date after lawyers for the National Labour Commission (NLC), which dragged POTAG to court, and POTAG had argued their cases.
Counsel for the NLC, Mr C. S. Sackey, said the POTAG strike was illegal because it failed to exhaust opportunities offered it by the NLC to resolve its differences with the FWSC.
For instance, he said the POTAG did not satisfy Section 159 of the Labour Act, which enjoined aggrieved parties to go on arbitration and where it failed, parties were expected to give a seven-day notice before embarking on any action.
Giving the background to the impasse between POTAG and the FWSC, Mr Sackey said on July 30, 2010, the leadership of POTAG wrote to the NLC for the commencement of negotiations on their conditions of service which POTAG said had expired since 2006.
Counsel for the NLC stated that POTAG served notice that if by August 13, 2010, nothing concrete had come out, it would not take responsibility for any unrest.
“We invited POTAG to attend a meeting on August 18, 2010 and on August 25, 2010, POTAG expressed its frustration with the FWSC and asked for suspension of migration of POTAG onto the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) payroll,” Mr Sackey pointed out.
He continued that “in view of the seriousness we attach to the matter, we invited FWSC and POTAG for a meeting and at the hearing on September 8, 2010, the POTAG President confirmed to the NLC that POTAG was on a sit-down strike.
According to counsel, the NLC directed the FWSC to meet POTAG and report on September 22, 2010, adding that the NLC also directed POTAG to formally respond to a road map submitted to it by the FWSC.
Mr Sackey said at another meeting the NLC directed the two bodies to meet for re-evaluation of jobs at the Polytechnic, adding that the NLC ordered the two to go into compulsory arbitration on October 15, 2010.
Counsel argued that the NLC did not only order the POTAG to go back to the classroom but also directed FWSC to resolve all issues as far back as 2006.
He further submitted that the FWSC had not complained it was having difficulty negotiating with the POTAG and for that reason it was unfortunate and strange POTAG was rejecting NLC's offer, which it gave on a silver platter.
Quoting sections of the Bible to prove his point, counsel said the prayers of POTAG had been answered and it was, therefore, strange they were doubting it, adding that "POTAG is overwhelmed by the directive of the NLC".
His Biblical quotations, which dwelled on the story of Zachariah, who was doubtful after God had informed him in his old age that his elderly wife was going to have a son, drew a huge laughter from the audience in the courtroom when the presiding judge asked him to quote the section of the Bible which touched on that story. Mr Sackey obliged and cited Luke 1:13.
Mr Sackey, then prayed the court to order POTAG to go back to the classroom and submit themselves to compulsory arbitration with the FWSC.
Opposing his colleague's application, counsel for the POTAG, Mr Samspon Obeng, described the application as incompetent and without merit and stated that POTAG's position was that its terms and conditions of service had expired since 2006.
"We have addressed series of correspondence asking them to initiate processes to ensure negotiation take place. We, through the NLC, tried to engage the FWSC but the FWSC flatly refused to negotiate with POTAG on the grounds that it would affect the smooth implementation of a new salary scheme," Mr Obeng pointed out.
"All we ask for is to let negotiations begin. Instead of acting as independent arbiter, you issue directive asking us to enter into compulsory voluntary arbitration," counsel submitted in apparent reference to the NLC's directive to the POTAG.
He said the NLC arranged for a meeting between POTAG and FWSC on Wednesday and "to our shock and dismay, NLC failed to provide a credible road map. The NLC has not done anything to show FWSC is in a position to negotiate with us".
Mr Obeng argued that the POTAG asked for a road map to negotiate but it was rather provided with a road map to its migration onto the single spine salary structure.
Counsel submitted that it was rather the FWSC and not the POTAG that was unwilling to negotiate and further prayed the court to decline the NLC's request.