Health Ministry meets aggrieved mortuary workers over strike

The Health Ministry is set to meet Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) today, March, 04, 2019 to avert an impending nationwide strike.

Mortuary workers, have threatened an industrial action which will begin Tuesday.

According to them, the move is their last resort to compel the Ministry of Health to among others, review their salaries upward and working hours.

The Public Relations Officer(PRO) of the Ministry, Elorm Ametepe indicated that his outfit will meet the group today to reach a middle-ground on the issues.

“We had a meeting with the executives of the Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana and they agreed to meet us on Monday. But they did not show up so we tried getting in touch with the executives and the leader came to the office on Friday. And we agreed that the meeting should be held next week so we are negotiating with them.”

“I want to assure them that the Ministry is not sitting down idle. We have and continue to work to make sure that all the staff are comfortable and continue to work so they will not be left out. Whatever the problem is we will see how we can resolve them.” he said in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM.

The impending strike by the workers come three months after mortuary workers in the country threatened to embark on a similar strike over poor working conditions.

A letter signed by the General Secretary of MOWAG, Richard Kofi Jordan, which announced the latest intention to strike this week, contended that the only language the Ministry understands is strike, and will leave no stone unturned in their resolve to fight for better conditions of service.

“…we are left with no other option than to exercise our rights to embarking on the strike” which they said was put on hold in November last year “hopeful that things will work out for the good of the parties”, the mortuary workers said in the letter.