Labour analyst, Austin Gamey is predicting doom for the country if government and workers continually fail to abide by the rules which govern industrial relations.
[contextly_sidebar id=”kTgBRNqsolXAPuBuH7R1zSydi4ZQaprZ”]“We are doomed to repeat our errors continually in a cycle if we don’t want to abide by the rules and regulations that govern the process of industrial relations,” he warned.
He was of the view that the indefinite strike declared by the Judicial Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) is “completely off mark” and advised the leadership of the Association to seek redress from the National Labour Commission (NLC).
The leadership of JUSAG on Tuesday declared a nationwide indefinite strike after failed negotiations with the Employment Minister over their unpaid allowances.
The President of the JUSAG, Alex Nartey on the Citi Breakfast Show defended their action saying, although the strike is regrettable, it is a necessary.
But Austin Gamey observed that Ghanaians are failing to learn from past experiences regarding labour unrests and strikes.
According to him, people claim to know the labour laws “but from where I sit, they don’t know it the way it’s supposed to be known and therefore, they cannot apply it.”
He admonished Alex Boateng to go to the NLC if they want to resolve the matter because “there is always a way out in resolving any matter.”
“I think the way forward is for him [Alex Boateng] and his colleagues to go to the National Labour Commission and report this matter if he thinks that the employer is unable to honour an obligation, especially, talking about allowances.”
He admitted that Ghanaians are increasingly becoming aware of democracy which gives them the right to demonstrate and embark on strikes, “but there are rules that govern this thing…he should follow a path that will help them solve the problem.”
“If the employer does not have the money to pay you immediately, there is still a way to resolve that matter and do rescheduling but if you go on a strike or you withdraw your services, the consequences are very obvious – you are losing more, you are worsening the plight of yourselves and everybody.”
Austin Gamey advised that in order to prevent the cyclical labour unrests in the country, educational institutions must begin teaching labour issues.
“The educational institutions need to be teaching these things and begin taking a cue from these and teach the people who are coming now what is to be done in the future…so that we wouldn’t have a repetition of these cycle of things.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan