The
strike by the Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) has been called off
after fruitful deliberations with the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the
Ministry of Health (MoH).
According to MOWAG’s General Secretary Richard Jordan, the group called off the strike because they are confident that government would address their grievances in the coming weeks.
He said, “The issues are that the strike is called off for now…there is no need keeping Ghanaians unnecessarily in this hardship.”
Before the meeting with the group yesterday, the NLC had expressed hope that the three-day sit down action by the group would be called off soon.
Executive Secretary of the NLC, Ofosu Asamoah, stated that “several meetings have gone on with the mortuary employers and the Ministry of Health, of which the Labour Commission has been briefed of all the developments.”
“We have invited them to appear before the commission this morning. At least almost every issue has been resolved but their negotiation with the Fair Wages Commission is the main crux now. Hopefully after the meeting, the issue will be resolved and we will go back to work,” he added.
MOWAG declared an indefinite strike for its members on Tuesday over concerns regarding low salaries and poor working conditions.
The association said the Ministry of Health’s failure to provide its members with tangible solutions to their demands and a date for negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) pushed them to take the decision.
Illegal Strike
The FWSC had earlier described the strike by the group as illegal, indicating that the group failed to go through the approved procedure before declaring the industrial action.
According to the commission, the group should have first informed the commission of their challenges and enable negotiations to commence, but it did not do so.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri