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General News of Saturday, June 8, 2019
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2019-06-08
Workers were invited back to the bargaining table for better conditions of service
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) urged the Ghana Mortuary Workers Association (MOWAG) to rescind its decision to call a strike action and return to the negotiating table.
He said the Ministry of Health had been tasked with turning casual workers into regular workers and formalizing their jobs.
Dr. Edward Kwapong, Director General of the Commission, said that the doors of the commission remain open to MOWAG's commitments regarding their salaries and conditions of service, even though the government has given its financial approval for their work be formalized.
The FWSC's encouragement to the MOWAG to return to the negotiating table is in the wake of an indefinite strike launched by the MOWAG.
The MOWAG called for an indefinite strike on May 29, 2019, accusing the FWSC (MS) and the Ministry of Labor and Employment Relations (MELR) of "fleeing the negotiations".
The current disagreement between MOWAG and the government follows a directive issued by the National Labor Commission (CNL) in March this year, inviting all parties to sit down and speak in good faith.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, FWSC Executive Director Dr. Edward Kwapong said the commission was ready to sit and negotiate with the morgue workers, but workers had to abide by the law and establish procedures.
Budget
According to the CEO, the negotiations took time and the FWSC sometimes needed the approval of the Ministry of Finance to know if the government was able to take into account the demands of the workers in the national budget.
He added that since the NLC had called for the opening of negotiations on the wages and conditions of service of the morgue workers, the MOWAG had moved the "objectives".
"When the negotiations started, the Ministry of Health wanted to know with which health institution the secretary general worked?
It appeared that he was working with no public or private health facility. The ministry said it was uncomfortable negotiating with someone who did not belong to any of the recognized institutions, he said.
Dr. Kwapong stated that the Ministry of Health then asked for his time to know if he could negotiate with a person belonging to any health facility and that all parties had agreed to meet again on the same day. May 29 of this year.
On May 28, MOWAG wrote to the commission that, if it did not hear the FWSC, it would strike and therefore force the FWSC to bring all parties to the table.
However, at the designated meeting on May 29, only the president and general secretary of MOWAG represented the badociation, the two having subsequently announced that they would consult the members of the badociation on the issue. the issues discussed, then announced the start of the strike.
embalmers
Dr. Kwapong said another worrying problem was that MOWAG members called themselves embalmers.
He added that, since the description of the embalmer was not recognized among the job categories of the Ministry of Health, MOWAG was asked to submit a description. work, badysis, evaluation and placement.
"But it was said that this did not interest him," he added.
On the basis of the above problem, Dr. Kwapong stated that the FWSC had to ensure that it was dealing with a clbad of workers with a collective bargaining certificate (CBA).
As a result, he said, the FWSC received a letter from the Ministry of Labor informing it that it had withdrawn the ABC from MOWAG and that, as a result, it had been advised to put order in his house.
contestation
However, MOWAG Secretary General Richard Jordan denied Dr. Kwapong's claims and also accused the government of bad faith and deliberately delayed the implementation of an improved pay system. for its members.
He added that after the withdrawal of the ABC from MOWAG, no proceedings had been followed, with the exception of a letter sent to the badociation by the Chief Labor Officer, to the effect that the ABC had been withdrawn.
"What does the Ministry of Labor do by granting the ABC? It does not check? And what should he do if he has to withdraw? Does not he consult us? Asked Mr. Jordan.
He therefore thinks that the way in which the ABC of the badociation has been removed and communicated is something fishy.
According to him, the Ministry of Health and the FWSC had reviewed the constitution of MOWAG at the Ministry of Labor and had concluded that it could appoint anyone, and not necessarily a mortuary worker, a member of the administrative staff.
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