Government should be tactful in finding lasting solutions to the numerous labour unrests and intended strike actions as soon as possible, a political science lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Samuel Adu-Gyamfi has admonished.
For him, considering the fact that it is an election year, government and various authorities should devise a strategy to resolve concerns by labour unions amicably.
He has cautioned government to desist from playing on the minds of disgruntled workers and the citizenry by employing public relation tactics in dealing with issues.
This, he said, would prevent the possibility of the issues and unrests having a negative effect on the governing party in the 2016 elections.
Dr Adu-Gyamfi, who was speaking in an interview on Class FM’s Executive Breakfast Show, told the host, Prince Minkah, on Tuesday September 6: “They should quickly and not even use the PR system to write and talk but rather let the agencies of state act. Every appropriate agency should be able to handle some of these issues as soon as practicable.”
Workers of state power distributor Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) recently suspended a two-day strike which started on Friday in anticipation of a meeting with government. There is still the possibility the workers resuming the strike if the talks hit a snag. Prior to this, they had organised several protests.
Also, patients who visited pharmacies in public hospitals in the country on Monday were left stranded due to an ongoing indefinite nationwide strike declared by members of the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA).
Before GHOSPA declared its strike, the National Labour Commission (NLC) had been grappling with a similar strike started by the Ghana Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS). The NLC said it would be able to address the concerns of the group after the medical professionals called off their week-old strike recently.
Additionally, members of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) are also unhappy with government over salary concerns and other conditions of members.
Dr Adu-Gyamfi believed players who matter in resolving issues concerning wages, salaries, allowances, and matters pertaining to workers’ welfare “should come to the table and deal with the issue with a certain understanding that some concessions will be made in allowing government to have its peace of mind in the build-up to the polls”.
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