Ho Municipal Hospital casual workers want status regularised

Casual workers of the Ho Municipal Hospital are appealing to the Volta Regional Director and the Director General of the Ghana Health Service to intercede on their behalf in resolving the impasse between them and management of the hospital.

The workers numbering over 50 are from the pharmacy, claims office, laundry, kitchen, security, and orderlies departments.

The workers, who chose to speak to the Ghana News Agency on strict condition of anonymity on Thursday said some of them had been with the hospital for over 15 years without mechanisation.

“We were employed by the hospital between two and 16 years now, but the hospital still regards us as temporal workers,” they lamented.

They contended that whenever there was a head count at the facility, the Management “forced” them to be counted as full-time hospital employees.

They lamented that they were being paid GH₵ 300.00 which was increased to GH₵400, this year.

They noted that all their efforts to make the management of the facility regularise their employment proved futile.

The workers said some of them were victimised for voicing their concerns and worked long hours and at weekends and on public holidays without any compensation as they were considered temporal workers.

A staff at the administration of the hospital, who also declined to be identified told the GNA that the National Labour Commission would soon meet the casual workers and management of the hospital to see how best to resolve the issue.

Mr Samuel Omega, a former administrator of the facility, giving background on the issue also said some efforts were made at their level to mechanise the casual workers.

The new administrator of the Ho Municipal Hospital, Mr. Matthew Abbiaw, said he was new at the facility and was now trying to familiarise himself with the matter.