University administrators declare strike effective August 10 over market premium disparities
The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has announced the resumption of its nationwide strike from Monday, August 10, 2026, citing continued disparities in market premium and other allowances between teaching and non-teaching senior staff at public universities.
The decision was contained in a communiqué delivered by GAUA’s newly elected National President, Rev. Kwaku Karikari Amoah of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), at the end of the association’s 2026 National Congress in Sunyani on Friday, August 7.
The congress, held under the theme “Building agile universities: the role of administrative and professional staff,” brought together members from public universities nationwide to discuss welfare concerns and elect new national executives.
Members wore red armbands during the congress as a sign of protest, while speakers emphasised the important role played by university administrators and expressed concern that their contributions were often not adequately reflected in remuneration decisions.
GAUA said it was deeply concerned about what it described as growing inequalities in market premium between teaching and non-teaching senior staff.
According to the association, recent adjustments to market premium have resulted in significant differences between the two groups, despite both being classified within the same senior member structure.
GAUA stressed that while it supports improvements in the conditions of service for teaching staff, such changes should not lead to unfair treatment of non-teaching senior members.
The association recalled that when the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) was introduced in 2012, market premium for senior members was harmonised to promote equal treatment across the various categories.
It noted that no upward adjustments had been made since then until the latest review in 2026.
GAUA said an agreement reached with the government on April 22, 2026, resulted in a 40 per cent increase in the consolidated market premium and non-basic allowance for non-teaching senior members. However, it argued that the gap between the benefits received by teaching and non-teaching staff remained significant.
The association said the average teaching senior member now receives about GH¢10,000 in market premium, compared with roughly GH¢4,718 for a non-teaching senior member.
It further described as unfair a situation where the lowest-ranking teaching senior member receives a higher market premium than the highest-ranking non-teaching senior member, including registrars and finance officers.
GAUA argued that both categories were assigned the same market premium level when the SSSS was introduced in 2012.
The association said the disparity was contrary to the principles of fairness and internal equity underpinning the Single Spine Pay Policy and warned that the growing gap could affect staff morale, industrial relations and the effective administration of public universities.
GAUA disclosed that it petitioned the National Labour Commission and other relevant government institutions on July 16, 2026, to seek intervention but had not received a response.
The association stressed that its action was not aimed at teaching senior staff but was intended to secure fair and transparent treatment for all senior members based on consistent principles.
It called on the government and other stakeholders to uphold fairness, equity and equal recognition of the contributions made by all senior members towards the development of Ghana’s public universities.
Following the deliberations, Congress resolved to reactivate the strike action that had previously been suspended, effective Monday, August 10.
The industrial action, GAUA said, will remain in force until the issues in dispute are satisfactorily resolved.
