Government must be transparent in the negotiation with unions – Labour expert

Labour Analyst, Austin Gamey, has urged government to be transparent in negotiations with public sector worker’s unions in the country.

This follows the Medical Laboratory Professional Worker’s Union on Friday directing its members to resume work on Monday, June 24 as they announced a suspension of industrial action.

The union has been negotiating with government for the past two years but without success.

This forced members to go on strike on Monday, 17 June 2024 to put pressure on the government to conclude negotiations.

Following a directive by the National Labour Commission (NLC), the union has resolved to suspend the industrial action.

Speaking to Starr News, the Labour analyst stated that the government has failed to act on issues bothering Ghanaian workers.

“For the past two years, a ruling has been made and they (workers) have been very candid with the employer and very open to the employer but the employer has failed to perform its duty. The Labour Commission did not miss words yesterday.

“He really told the employer what they should do, so we believe strongly that they shall make a decision and determination on the matter. It is only fair that the executives go back to their Council to let them know that this has been the outcome and they have a decision to go back to work”, Mr. Gamey stated.

He continued: “The workers are worried and troubled because of the behaviour of the employer. Most of the time it is the employer’s mistake it is not the worker’s mistake. Almost all the ongoing things it is never the error or the mistake of the workers or the union. It is the employer’s problem so they have to advise themselves and put their house in order to get to the table.

“If they don’t have the money they should be very open and tell the workers that ‘we don’t have the money’. They will advise themselves that if the employer does not have the money let’s stay and suffer the consequences of it. But if you are deceiving by telling them that, I will give you and it’s dragging for two years.”