Health Services Workers Union gives government two weeks ultimatum

By Patience Gbeze, GNA

Accra, Nov. 21, GNA - The Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) of TUC (Ghana) has given the government two weeks to solve their grievances or they would advise themselves accordingly.

According to the Union some of the unresolved issues include selective implementation of Collective Agreement; payment of Market Premium based on their current monthly basic salary; Salary distortion under Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS); no increment credits, upgrade of three level grades to four, and non-implementation of National Health Laboratory Policies.

Mr Franklin Owusu Ansah, the Deputy General Secretary of HSWU, addressing the media in Accra, said some of these issues lingered since 2012 but “as responsible and peaceful Union, we always resorted to dialoguing instead of taking vehement steps that disrupts the congenial industrial relations atmosphere.

“However, we have deduced that management has taken our disposition to be weakness, hence the treatment being meted out to us…,” he said.

“The Health Services Workers’ Union has, over the years, championed the cause of promoting the rights of its members through collective bargaining and made efforts to improve the lives of workers and their families. Nonetheless, it has been observed, without any modicum of doubt that our employers have taken the Union for granted despite our efforts to adhere to all procedures required in resolving our grievances”, he said.

Mr Owusu Ansah said their members were not happy with the discrimination being perpetrated against them despite their immense contribution towards improving quality health care delivery in the country.

He said in December 2015, the Ministry of health and its Agencies signed a Collective Agreement with the HSWU to take effect from January one, 2016 yet it has not been implemented fully till date, as some health institutions failed to implement or selectively implemented the Agreement.

He said that the recent industrial actions that occurred in the health sector could have been curbed if government had implemented the Collective Agreement, which addresses the needs of health workers.

The Deputy General Secretary said though the Agreement is due for review, the enthusiasm to review waned drastically because of the fear that the outcome might suffer a similar fate.

“In the light of this, the Union, as a prerequisite to continue the already commenced negotiation, has insisted and requested for measures to be put in place to combat non-compliance by the Ministry of Health and its Agencies.

Mr Owusu Ansah said in 2012, to entice the health sector workers to get on board the Single Spine Salary Structure, which was lower than the Health Sector Salary Structure, a Market Premium Factor was introduced as a top-up for the shortfall.

The amount of the market premium was calculated as a percentage of the monthly basic salary of members. These percentages were graduated based on classes   of grades and were paid accordingly.

He said subsequently, government pegged the Market Premium on the 2012 base pay without recourse to the Union and in effect, members continue to receive Market Premium that was not commensurate with their current base pay.

He complained that since 2012, they have not received any appreciable incremental credits but their investigations revealed that the Human Resource Management Software being used does not have incremental credits and that increments are done manually.

The Deputy Secretary General said in view of this, their members have been excluded from getting incremental credits, despite the fact that that there were no adverse reports against them, which would warrant withholding of the increment.

On salary distortions under SSSS, he said, during placement of health workers, it was observed that the Allied Health Professionals were not having any law regulating the professions, regulatory council was absent and they did not write licensure examinations like their counterparts in the nursing and pharmacy grades.

It was agreed by the parties that their salaries could not be at par with their colleagues until the above requirements are satisfied.

Mr Owusu Ansah said all the requirements have been met since the introduction of the health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), yet the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has failed to align them as agreed.

“They rather asked the staff to go through a job re-evaluation exercise. Notwithstanding the fact that the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and the Union have all recommended that the grades be aligned with their counterparts.

“There are also other members who have wrongfully been placed on the salary structure with the explanation that Ministry of Health does not have the corresponding grades to place them, an example is the Medical Physicists. This situation has become very frustrating and as a matter of urgency we call on the appropriate stakeholders to intervene.” 

GNA

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