More unions would soon join the strike if government is not serious with engagements – Labour unions
Organised labour is not excited with the dire economic situation the country is saddled with and has cautioned
that more unions may also embark on industrial action to demand the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance.
They further accused the government of failing to present a proposal during Tuesday’s engagement with over 20 Labour unions.
The government’s bid to get the four teacher unions on strike over the Cost of Living Allowance to return to the classroom failed, as a meeting with them ended in a stalemate.
During the meeting on Tuesday, the government called on the leadership of the unions to call off their strike before negotiations could begin, but the teachers remained adamant and subsequently staged a walkout.
Michael Owusu-Ansah, a representative of the Ghana Association of University Administrators accused the government of using inappropriate methods to resolve issues.
“If the government was concerned, the government could have called a meeting earlier and engaged the striking unions before meeting the bigger unions,” he said.
“Labour is very dissatisfied and for me, my fear is that we may have more unions joining the striking unions because that appears to be the conversation government understands,” Mr Owusu-Ansah said.
Meanwhile, the government has expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with labour.
Although he could not give timelines for the next meeting, the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wereko Brobbey, was however hopeful more engagements would be held to resolve the impasse.
“The call was from organised labour for us to adjourn so that we do more engagement. They themselves are going to talk to the teacher unions. We ourselves will also do the same, have a meeting and start negotiating for better conditions of service for Ghana workers.”
