Various worker unions embark on strike
Information minister assures of govt’s readiness to deal with strike issues
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has said government is working assiduously to address various labour union strikes currently happening in the country.
Oppong Nkrumah said the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, and his associates are working around the clock to ensure the industrial actions are quickly addressed.
The information Minister said although labour unions are allowed to demand more, the country’s available resources should be taken into consideration while the demands are being made. This, he said, should bring up the conversation of devising means of raking in more revenue to address these challenges.
“My understanding is that the Employment Minister and his associates are very much on top of it, and assisting the frontline Ministries like Education etc, to try and find that fine balance between demand and supply. And our hope is that they will be successful sooner than later," Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said.
Speaking in an interview on The Probe on JoyNews, he attributed the current wave of labour unrests to political rivalry, stating that it is a characteristic of the second regime of every administration.
“I think the reality also is that usually when a government is done with its first term, you’ll see a lot of attempts to whip up labour against them from various parts of the body politic. Our hope is that, that’s not what’s happening in this instance, and that the legitimate concerns that are being raised by these labour unions can be addressed as soon as possible," he noted.
Barely a week into the year 2022, about three labour unions have declared nationwide industrial actions.
On January 1 2022, the Certified Registered Anaesthetists (CRAs) announced the complete withdrawal of their services as they say their “members are not duly licensed to practice”.
On January 5, a statement by the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU)stated that the Union was declaring a nationwide strike over government’s failure to pay all outstanding arrears relating to their professional development allowances.
Consequently, on January 8, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), also issued a statement, announcing a planned nationwide strike, which is set to take off today, Monday, January 10, 2022.
This has greatly impacted the Health and Education sector as the labour unions have withdrawn all essential services they provide. However, the question being asked by the general public is how soon these challenges will be addressed.
The information minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has however assured of government’s readiness to deal decisively with the concerns. Read Full Story
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