Today, July 12, 2022, was an unusual day at the Ministry of Health because government officials met with organized labor unions. The labor unions' campaign for better working conditions has made for an intriguing few days. Four pre-tertiary unions went on strike last week, alleging that their demands for a 20 percent cost-of-living allowance had been disregarded.
Today, the deputy minister of employment and the minister of finance, along with other government officials, discussed the future with organized labor. The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association, the Public Workers Services Union, and the Medical Association have all given notice of an upcoming strike.
NAGRAT under the leadership of Angel Carbonu was the first group to leave the meeting. Later, GNAT left as well. NAGRAT claims that because of the negotiations' failure to produce a resolution, they left.
They were forced to leave, according to Angel Carbonu, since the administration insisted on calling off the strike before negotiations could begin, something they were not willing to do. He clarified that the government wasn't prepared to pay the 20% Coca.
He made mention of the ongoing nature of their strike. Despite the fact that some unions appear to be leaving the conference, other unions are still confined inside. The conference had to be adjourned, according to the deputy minister of employment, because some parties were not prepared to end their strike before negotiations began.
Contributing to Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo" programme, Nana Akomea pleaded with the unions to heed the call by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who has pledged to address their grievances.
Nana Akomea noted that Ghana is currently saddled with huge economic challenges, therefore asked the teacher unions to be patient and wait on the government to finish her negotiation with the International Monetary Fund to release the "balance of payment" support that the government is requesting to beef up her economic program.
He was strongly optimistic that the government will meet their needs after the IMF negotiation.
"We're currently negotiating with the IMF. The President, himself, has added his voice to it that he has listened to the workers' grievances but he pleads with them to call off the strike, particularly the teachers because the children are now going to write their exams.
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