Single Spine Salary: UTAG asks govt to review structure to accommodate its members | AM News - video Dailymotion

The Multimedia group

AM News with Benjamin Akakpo on JoyNews (16-10-23)  #AMShow #AMNews #MyJoyOnline  https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghana-news/  Subscribe for more videos just like this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChd1DEecCRlxaa0-hvPACCw/   Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joy997fm  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Joy997FM  Instagram: https://bit.ly/3J2l57   Click this for more news: https://www.myjoyonline.com/

Transcript

00:00 Thank you for staying with us. Time now for our News Belt and we start with our first

00:04 story. The University Teachers Association of Ghana is asking government to review the

00:09 single-spine salary structure to expand its level and notches to accommodate its members.

00:16 National President Professor Mamudu Abungu Akudugu made the call at UTAG's 21st Biennial

00:21 National Delegates Congress in Tamale. Martina Buguri, now with you.

00:25 President of UTAG, to deliberate on the activities of the union, welfare of its members and national

00:31 development. It was under the theme "Labour, Unionism and Socioeconomic Transformation

00:37 in Ghana. Can UTAG be the pacesetter?"

00:42 President of UTAG, Professor Mamudu Abungu Akudugu also demanded that government complete

00:50 negotiations for their conditions of service for implementation by January 2024.

00:58 We demand our employer, that's government, to as a matter of agency, work with us and

01:07 all other stakeholders to one, complete the negotiations for our conditions of service

01:14 for implementation by January 2024. More importantly, we implore the employer to implement without

01:27 any further delay the negotiated per litre rate for vehicle maintenance allowance and

01:34 off-campus allowance and the areas thereof paid.

01:42 Two, we are asking for a review of the single span salary structure. Or in the meantime,

01:56 expand the levels and notches to accommodate our members or take us out of the span completely.

02:02 If this is not possible, we want out. And we think that we are better off out of the

02:10 span than on the spine.

02:16 Our last demand is that development is possible and efficient when it is supported with the

02:24 relevant contextual evidence. So what we need is that at least governments work towards

02:32 dedicating 1% of our GDP to fund the National Research Fund. At least 1% of GDP. So the

02:49 generation of evidence can only be possible if research is adequately funded.

02:56 The General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Dr. Anthony Yau Ba, called for unionized groups

03:02 in the country to lead a process to have the 1992 constitution changed because he said

03:09 it had lost its relevance.

03:12 I tell you now, all the unions are looking up to us because it looks like we are the

03:20 most well organized. And I'm talking about trade unions. Therefore, we must work to improve

03:30 conditions of all the unions, not only us, not only our members.

03:36 And if we can do that, then there is one thing we have to pay attention to. And that has

03:43 to do with the 1992 constitution of Ghana. That constitution is no longer serving us.

03:51 And we have to change it. We have to come together as trade unions, as organized labor,

04:01 and lead the transformation. And that transformation can only appear if we change the constitution

04:08 of this country.

04:09 The Vice Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, Professor Saiduwa Lahasan,

04:16 called on universities to make their programs relevant to transform the country.

04:21 All of us, we've been teaching, we do research, we mount programs. Are they relevant to national

04:33 policy? Are they relevant to promote the transformation that we want? So the aim is our academic program

04:44 and the research that we are doing in the universities, we have to make them more relevant

04:49 to national development.

04:58 Well, in our next story, Paramount Chief of the Laura traditional area, Nna Pwawele Kabo III,

05:03 says he's worried about the increasing number of cases of substance or drug abuse in the

05:08 Laura municipality. He notes that the abuse of tramadol and other illicit substances is

05:14 putting the lives of some of the people at risk, citing the recent deaths of three young

05:19 men in the municipality as examples. He's been speaking at this year's Kobina Festival

05:24 at Laura from where Rafiq Salam reports.

05:28 [HORN BLOWING]

05:32 This sound of the horn known locally here as hoorey signifies the start of the Kobina

05:39 Festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of the Laura traditional area. The festival

05:45 is celebrated annually to thank God and their ancestors for a successful farming season

05:51 in anticipation of a bumper harvest. Kobina also provides a platform for the citizens

05:58 to discuss and review development programs and issues affecting the development of the

06:03 area. One notable thing which the Paramount Chief of the Laura traditional area, Nna Pwawele

06:10 Kabo III, saw as a drawback and danger to the people is the increasing cases of substance

06:17 abuse in the municipality, citing the case of three young men who recently lost their

06:23 lives as a result of that.

06:25 We have observed in recent times an alarming incidence of suspected drug or substance abuse

06:33 related deaths in the Paramount. It is apparent that June's line this year, the Laura township

06:41 alone which has the death of three apprehensive healthy young men, is presenting the same

06:47 or similar medical conditions of suspected drinking daily, possibly as a result of some

06:55 drug or substance abuse. The issue of substance or drug abuse with its potential to be fast

07:01 changing to some farming consequences on the productivity of the farming population is

07:07 therefore a looming threat and a challenge to our product productivity and hence the

07:14 sustainability of Kobina Festival.

07:17 In our next story now, the electricity company of Ghana is asking Ghanaians to be vigilant

07:24 and guard against theft of power transmitting logistics in their jurisdiction. General Manager

07:30 of the ECG Volta region, Christina Jatokalio, says the stealing of these logistics interrupts

07:38 power supply.

07:41 The Roots Show forms part of the power distribution company's customer service month celebration.

07:47 Workers at the Volta Regional Secretariat interacted with the residents and educated

07:51 them to create awareness of ECG's cashless system. The system saw the introduction of

07:56 the power app and shortcode *226# to enable customers to transact business with the company

08:03 remotely on their phones. Ms. Christina Jatokalio is the General Manager of ECG Volta region.

08:11 We want to say that continue to patronize the ECG power app or use the shortcode which

08:17 is *226#. Some of the advantages are you can top up your credit, those using prepaid meters,

08:26 those with postpaid meters you can also pay your bills. You can check your bill using

08:32 the app, you can check your consumption, you can log complaints, especially for those using

08:38 the app. You can instead of walking all the way to our offices to report a complaint,

08:42 just go on your phone and put it there. And it's a convenient way of doing business with

08:48 us. We will close at 5 o'clock but this app doesn't close, it's 24/7. You can wake up

08:54 any time of the night, any time of the day, whether it is raining, it is shining, you

08:59 can contact ECG by way of using the ECG power app or the shortcode.

09:06 To use the medium to entreat the public to help protect ECG logistics in their neighborhood

09:11 to prevent theft and interruptions of power supply.

09:15 Let's be vigilant. We have people around who are vandalizing our system. They pull down

09:22 transformers to steal copper. Meters are being stolen, service cables are being stolen. So

09:29 let's all be each other's keeper. Watch, if you see anybody doing something you are

09:33 not sure if it's from ECG, kindly approach the person, find out. If you feel suspicious,

09:41 alert your friends and let's all be. Because when they take off these coppers, large communities

09:48 are in darkness. Everybody is losing. People who are even in the hospital needing power,

09:54 the power can just go up. It's not all power outages that are caused by ECG. Some of these

09:59 things are done by people who have their own personal interests and trying to steal from

10:04 the company.

10:05 Empower women to reduce the country's crime rate. That's according to the Medina Divisional

10:18 Police Commander, Chief Superintendent, Dr. Sarah Aba Afari. Dr. Aba Afari is urging the

10:25 Ministry of Gender to craft a policy to help women spend more time with their children.

10:30 There's more in this report.

10:32 As the first female police PAG holder in Ghana and Africa, Chief Superintendent Dr. Sarah

10:39 Aba Afari, the Medina Divisional Police Commander of the Ghana Police Service has again been

10:45 honored with two honorary doctorate degrees in Ministry and Christian Education from the

10:51 Holy Spirit Bible University for her outstanding leadership and contribution towards curbing

10:58 the crime rate in her jurisdiction of Medina. Dr. Sarah Aba Afari urged the Gender Ministry

11:04 to craft a policy to help women spend much more time with their children as a strategy

11:10 towards reducing the country's crime rate.

11:12 When we update or build the capacity of women, then we're able to change the dynamics of

11:19 our nation. So I will encourage the Gender Ministry to develop strategies for women,

11:27 working women, to have time, maybe have time to receiving their children when the children

11:35 return from school. Because househelves are also children, most of them are children,

11:41 that needs to be guided. So if there should be a policy to, that is gender mainstreaming,

11:47 to allow women, let's say Ghanaian children get back from school at 3pm, so women can

11:53 close from work at 3pm and get home to meet their children, it will reduce what? Crime.

11:59 And it will reduce, it will bring everything back to what? Normalcy. Let's try it and it

12:05 will work. According to her, targeting women as a crime fighting strategy is already yielding

12:11 positive results in the Medina municipality. As a crime prevention strategy, I interact

12:19 with women in my jurisdiction, that is the Medina jurisdiction, and then to know their

12:26 problem and also sensitize them on how to take good care of their children, because

12:31 they are able to control their children, no matter how they are aged. Everybody submits

12:36 to the voice of the mother. So for crime to be prevented, the mother, the woman, is an

12:43 equal partner to crime prevention, so any neglect in acknowledging women in this partnership,

12:52 I mean, any crime prevention strategy or model will be a mirage. That is why I chose to deal

13:01 with women, because a woman is able to influence the husband. So if the husband is a criminal,

13:07 the woman is able to influence the husband to tilt.

13:10 Now the Joy News Impact Makers awardee and municipal Girl Child Coordinator for Tichiman,

13:21 Ellen White-Opoku, has held a mentorship and health talk seminar for school children

13:26 in the municipality as part of activities to mark this year's International Day for the

13:31 Girl Child. She admonished the girls to be respectful to their parents and peers, and

13:36 charged key stakeholders to ensure they invest in girls' rights as a way of empowering them

13:41 to realize their potential. Correspondent Anas Sabit has the rest of the story.

13:46 The Action Aid Forum in Sunyai, as part

13:52 of the Global Women's Day, is a global initiative to support women's rights and

13:56 to empower women to be a part of the global community.

13:59 The Global Women's Day is a global initiative to support women's rights and to empower

14:02 women to be a part of the global community.

14:05 The Global Women's Day is a global initiative to support women's rights and to empower

14:08 women to be a part of the global community.

14:10 We'll bring you excerpts of that later, but let's move on to our next story. And the

14:15 Rural Focus Initiative, a charity organization run by Joy News' Sam Yoko-Dubrace and his

14:21 friends, have constructed a mechanized borehole for the pupils of the SDA Basic School in

14:27 Bansu, a farming community in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region. Now, this

14:32 is to help solve an age-old problem of lack of potable water for the school children.

14:39 There is more in this report.

14:40 Bansu, a farming community in the Ahanta West Municipality, is one of many communities

14:49 with their basic schools plagued by several challenges. One major problem that confronted

14:56 the school was lack of potable water. The pupils here had to rely on a small stream

15:03 for their source of drinking water.

15:05 Since I started this school, this is the water I have been drinking. Even when we are in

15:11 class, we don't have any water. So when the teacher is teaching, you have to wait

15:17 till the teacher ends what he's teaching before we can come and drink water here.

15:21 Since I came to this school, this is the water I have been drinking. When we are in

15:28 class and the teacher is teaching, we need water to drink, but we do not have water.

15:34 Joy News' Sam Yoko-Dubrace and his organization, the Rural Focus Initiative, were notified

15:41 of the situation for a possible help. Richard Bentum is the project coordinator of the organization.

15:48 Rural Focus Initiative is a non-governmental organization. Our aim is to empower the less

15:56 privileged. A few months ago, we had a call from the school. Sam Yoko-Dubrace, myself

16:03 and our team members visited the school to understand their problem. Actually, we never

16:07 even came here for this issue, but throughout our conversation, we were made to understand that

16:13 they have a serious problem with water. They took us to a place where the students

16:17 used to fetch water and it was an almost dried up stream. Seriously, we were sad. So we thought

16:24 it wise of getting a mechanized borehole like this for them. He says with about 90% of the

16:31 funding support from the UK for DMB, a group affiliated to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu

16:38 Baumya, a mechanized borehole has been constructed for the school. So we took to social media

16:44 where a group of people from UK, UK for Baumya, Dr. Mahamudu Baumya came to our aid to support us.

16:52 So we were able to get something for them and today, so refreshing to have this project

16:58 commissioned because water is life and we are happy to see this young kid or this student

17:04 having access to potable water. The headmistress of the school, Madam Catherine Yali, said this

17:11 will bring a huge relief to the school. Because previously the children have been going to the

17:17 community to fetch water from the borehole and during break time, the children will go and

17:22 not come back early after the break. And at times when they don't get the water, they have to go to

17:30 the stream over there to fetch water. And the stream, the water from the stream has a lot of

17:36 germs which affect the children to get worms and malaria, tapeworms and others. But now that we

17:43 got this potable water, I hope that the delay of break each time will stop and the children will

17:53 also get good health. She promised to ensure the regular maintenance of the facility. We thank the

18:01 almighty God for the water that Grace and team has given us. I and my SMC in the PTA people have

18:12 pledged that we will be able to maintain it so that Grace after 10 years will come and see the

18:19 same thing, new and neat as it is today. The group has set their sights on providing classroom and

18:26 washroom infrastructure for Fasing MA Basic, another farming community in the municipality.

18:34 Their target is to reach as many rural communities in Ghana as possible.

18:39 And that's how we cap off the news. But before we leave you, let's leave you with some NSMQ.

18:51 13 years after St. Louis Senior High School last appeared at the semi-final stage of the

18:55 competition, they have made a historic comeback to that stage of the National Science and Math

19:00 Quiz. They beat Ashanti Regional Champions Anglican Secondary School and Wesley Grammar School in a 26

19:06 point win. Here's Jacqueline Nance-Omayi-Ivoire who caught up with the students of

19:11 St. Louis after the contest and that's how we cap off the AMU's.

19:15 Nations, depends on us. Prosperity, depends on us. St. Louis, the place that has the people,

19:25 sits upon it. We shall always be the best and more equal. The integrity of the nation,

19:36 depends on us. Prosperity, depends on us. St. Louis, the place that has the people,

19:45 sits upon it. We shall always be the best and more equal.

19:51 Well, we just ended today's contest with St. Louis crowning the day with some 50 points.

19:57 And they just won against the original champions, Kumasi Anglican School.

20:01 We are expecting more and more next time. Thank you very much.

20:05 Alright, so just as the students are saying, we should expect more hits from them. Now,

20:11 today moving forward, we've had Wesley Girls kick out other schools and we've had St. Louis

20:19 also kick out Kumasi Anglican. But I'm still here with the students too.

20:23 How are you feeling right now? I'm feeling so happy. We are so

20:27 feeling good. We are thanking God because everything is not our might or power,

20:33 it's by the grace of God. And as the old Spanish saying goes,

20:36 "Qui sera, sera" - what will be, will be. We have won the cup already. This is just the beginning

20:41 of our glory. Alright, this is just the beginning indeed. Now, were you expecting this win today?

20:46 Okay, yeah. With God's grace, I knew we would win. And by God's grace, we've been able to also win

20:53 the contest. So we give all the time to God. Alright, now moving forward, what should we

20:59 expect from St. Louis? Because now it looks like you and Wesley Girls are the only girls school

21:05 right here in Ghana. Taking all the ladies schools in Ghana, you're taking as high.

21:10 So what should we expect right now? Okay, so we know that with God, we'll be able to move

21:15 further and as we are moving further, it will be a tougher competition. But we know that with God,

21:21 everything will be possible. So we are counting on God to help us to win the competition.

21:25 But tell me more, as a student right now, how are you feeling?

21:29 Comparing what you heard about, what you heard your competitors say about your school?

21:35 Okay, what I said was that you have to relax because Kassaian from us. So we kept quiet and

21:44 we relaxed until the contest started. We knew that our girls are already good.

21:52 And then by God's grace, we had God's favor upon us. That's why we won today. But

21:58 I also want to say that no one should underestimate any girls school because at this point,

22:06 everyone is trying. They proved to us that they really deserve this trophy and you all saw what

22:13 happened here. They lashed the Anglicans severely. You all saw everything. So we are not surprised

22:20 to see them qualifying to the next stage at all. How did you feel when you heard the

22:24 Anglican students calling your ladies that they came here for a beauty pageant? How did you feel?

22:29 Really? Then I didn't hear that. I'm telling you. For a beauty pageant. And what did they come here

22:34 to do? To sing Anglican music. They are beautiful girls with brains. That's what they have to know.

22:44 They are beautiful girls with brains. They are not just beautiful. They have brains as well and it

22:48 works. And you also saw what they did here. Exactly. I told you after the contest, I'll come

22:54 back again. And I came and I'm proud of the girls too. Moving forward, do you think this year your

22:59 girls are winning? Because 30 years on National Science and Maths, we've never had a girls school

23:04 to win the contest. But do you think that this year, this time around, your girls will be the

23:09 ones to raise that flag high? Well, they can still win. I'm still optimistic. Sorry. And let me tell

23:17 you one thing. You know, they eliminated the Central Regional Champions. And now they've

23:23 eliminated our Central Regional Champions. What else do I have to tell you? We are now waiting for the

23:27 Greater Accra Regional Champions. You understand. But you are a warrior. You are also about to have

23:33 your contest. Yes. Tomorrow. Assuming you guys meet, what would be the face for you? Are you

23:38 supporting your girls or you're supporting your boys? We'll definitely be supporting them.

23:43 Assuming there's a likelihood that you guys are meeting. Well, with that one, of course, I would support

23:47 my school. But if they are to win, I'll be happy for them. If you're happy for them.

23:53 You love winning. Not necessarily love winning. But then I'll support my school as I'm saying.

23:59 But if they are to win, I'll be happy for them. Okay. So I'm still here with the students.

24:06 And the boys supporting St. Louis Senior High.

24:16 [Music]

Single Spine Salary: UTAG asks govt to review structure to accommodate its members | AM News

Category

Transcript

Recommended