NLC, POTAG Case Adjourned To July 7

An Accra human rights court, on Wednesday adjourned the case involving the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) to July 7. The court adjourned the case for the respondents to file a written statement and serve the applicant for them to respond on or before the next adjourned date. Council for the defendant, Mr Justine Pwavra Triwajah, told the court that they had already filed a preliminary legal action to the applicant and that they had no right to bring them to court. He said the NLC had no legal right to summon them before court and that they were in objection to their application. The court, however, adjourned the case to July 7, saying it would not accept a viva voce (oral) submission but a written submission for it to be on record. The NLC is in court to enforce its directive for polytechnic teachers to call off their over-a-month old strike as well as enforce its ruling in the disparity between the Government and POTAG over the scrapping of the research and book allowances. The NLC had ruled that POTAG returned to work while arbitration procedures are initiated to address their concern but POTAG disregarded the ruling, forcing the NLC to go to court. POTAG has since May laid down its tools after Government failed to pay its book and research allowance for the 2013/2014 academic year. Meanwhile the Polytechnic Students Association of Ghana has asked Government to intervene in the disagreement between their lecturers and the National Labour Commission since the strike action is impeding academic work.