The outcome of the Monday meeting will determine whether Ghana’s healthcare system faces disruptions.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has criticized the Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) for issuing an ultimatum to strike if ongoing negotiations aren’t concluded by Monday, November 11, 2024. The FWSC has deemed this a breach of fair labour practices and has demanded that the union retract its ultimatum and issue a public apology.
The Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) has threatened to strike if the government doesn’t address their concerns in ongoing negotiations. The HSWU argues that six months of negotiations have yielded little progress, leaving their members facing economic hardships.
This escalating standoff between the two bodies was sparked by an HSWU statement on Thursday (November 7), warning that if the government fails to address unresolved issues in their collective bargaining agreement, the union would have no choice but to call its members to the picket lines.
The HSWU argues that nearly six months of negotiations have gone by with little progress, leaving their members to grapple with worsening economic hardships.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has countered the HSWU’s claims, blaming the union for the delays in negotiations. The FWSC alleges that the union introduced new demands at the eleventh hour, despite being warned that it would prolong the process. The FWSC maintains that the union’s actions have hindered efforts to reach a timely agreement.
The FWSC accommodated HSWU’s last-minute demands as a gesture of goodwill, but these changes delayed negotiations. The union’s submission of additional demands on October 14th further derailed the process. The HSWU’s strike threat, issued just hours before a scheduled negotiation meeting, was deemed a show of bad faith by the FWSC.
The FWSC has criticized the HSWU’s strike threat as a show of bad faith, given that negotiations were ongoing and only one item remained unresolved. The HSWU, however, insists on the government addressing their concerns by Monday, November 11, or they will strike. The union argues that their collective agreement was due for review in November 2023, and negotiations have been slow. The outcome of the Monday meeting will determine whether Ghana’s healthcare system faces disruptions.
Story: Kwabena Kyekyeku
