The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has ordered specified senior management officials of public universities to return to work, saying they are not eligible to take part in the ongoing industrial action by the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) and the Technical University Senior Administrators' Association of Ghana (TUSAAG).
The directive covers Vice-Chancellors, Pro Vice-Chancellors, Registrars, Directors of Finance or Finance Officers, Directors of Internal Audit, Directors of Health Services, Directors of Procurement, Directors of Works and Physical Development, Directors of Information Technology, Deans, Directors and Heads of Academic Units, as well as all Deputy Directors and Vice-Deans.
GTEC said these officials occupy executive, managerial or policy making positions whose functions require them to remain at post during industrial action.
In a directive dated August 17, 2026 and addressed to heads of tertiary institutions, the Deputy Director General of GTEC, Prof Augustine Ocloo, said the Commission had noted with concern that some senior management officials in the excluded categories had joined the strike, and said they were expected to return to work given the nature of their functions and responsibilities.
The directive draws on the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), particularly Sections 163 and 170, Section 20 of the Labour Regulations, 2007 (L.I. 1833), and the National Labour Commission Regulations, 2006 (L.I. 1822). GTEC said these provisions restrict workers in executive, managerial or policy making positions from taking part in industrial action where their functions align with the interests of management and the employer.
"A Senior Management Official who is both a member of a trade union and an officer of management may, therefore, be placed in a position of divided loyalty when the union undertakes industrial action," the directive stated, adding that such officials owe a fiduciary duty to their employers, particularly under contractual arrangements.
GTEC has directed Vice-Chancellors to submit, within 48 hours of receiving the directive, a register of all senior management officials who joined the strike and failed to comply with the order to return to work. The Commission also directed public universities to prevent the industrial action from disrupting essential institutional and student services, including end of semester examinations, auditing, telecommunications and internet services, student portals and registration systems, healthcare, cleaning and janitorial services, and the processing of salaries and other payments.
GTEC said it had received reports of attempts to disrupt internet access, student portals, registration systems, cleaning services and health services on some campuses, and warned that any unlawful disruption of essential services could constitute a breach of the Labour Act.
The directive follows GAUA's decision to reactivate its nationwide strike on August 10, 2026, over what it describes as persistent disparities in market premium and related allowances between teaching and non-teaching senior members of public universities. The decision was taken at the association's national congress in Sunyani on August 7, 2026, following concerns over differences in remuneration between teaching and non-teaching senior members, with the dispute centred on revised market premium and related allowances.
TUSAAG subsequently declared its full support for the GAUA action, saying its members had experienced similar disparities. The action therefore involves university administrators represented by GAUA and senior administrators in technical universities represented by TUSAAG, and does not involve all university employees.
GTEC said it remains committed to supporting an amicable resolution of the grievances underlying the industrial action, and urged both associations to exercise restraint and responsibility while pursuing their action.
