According to him, the workers must engage their Chief Labour Officer over their concerns against Goldfields’ planned retrenchment exercise that will see at least 1,700 workers lose their jobs.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HGew39U0vgUm3duSz1CeOmxWz9EIkg54″]“If the Chief Labour Officer, in the words of the workers’ leaders has been misled into granting them the go ahead, then they have the responsibility to provide the appropriate date and information to the Chief Labour Officer that will enable it to make the best decision under the circumstances,” he said.

There is an ensuing impasse between management and staff of Goldfields Ghana Mine, as the company says it is changing its business module, and will be forced to lay off some workers.

Goldfields Ghana Limited told Citi Business News this week, that it will lay off about 1,500 workers this month, as part of measures to change its business model, and make the company profitable due to the relatively short lifespan of the mine.

But the Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, Abdul Moomin Gbana, said the reasons given by Goldfields was inconsistent with the facts on the ground.

“Goldfields claims the life of the mine is 5 to 6 years, and based on the limited time, they cannot invest in mining fleet… It can actually run for a number of years and you don’t necessarily need to replace the fleets that Goldfields claims it wants to do. Records available to us indicates that, contrary to their claim of the life of the mine of 5-6 years, they have over 15 years of mine and so the question is, if your choice of contract mining is based on a limited life of mine and your own website projects 15 years, then, the question is, who are you misleading,” he said.

The workers have since petitioned parliament to look into the matter, but according to Mr. Kofi Davor, since the company appears to have received the go-ahead from the Chief Labor Officer to undertake the exercise, the workers can proceed to provide its counter information to the Chief Labour Officer for the decision to be overturned.

“If there is a basis to suspect that management is not being truthful, then workers have the right to call for that independent arbiter to verify what management is saying…It is important for the Chief Labour Officer to intervene in this matter at this stage, he said.”

He noted that the workers can also consider petitioning the National Labour Commission (NLC) over the matter, before proceeding to court subsequently if they feel dissatisfied about the outcome of the arbitration of the Chief Labour Officer, and the National Labour Commission (NLC).

“To the extent that the workers’ leaders even disagree with the position of the Chief Labour Officer, they can petition the National Labour Commission to intervene and deliver a ruling on that matter. Beyond that, even if there is a disagreement, the matter can still go to court. There are processes in terms of our national institutions to deal with this matter,” he said.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Goldfields workers may go to court over layoffs – Labour expert appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The meeting called by the government in an attempt to get the teachers to call off their strike, ended without any concrete assurance to CETAG.

[contextly_sidebar id=”PT7ez2apAiMColDUM4HQtMhH9MljCc0c”]Members of CETAG have been on strike since November 2, 2017, demanding the immediate payment of their nine-month salary arrears, allowances and market premiums.

CETAG is also seeking improved conditions of service.

A spokesperson for ETAG, Charles Amoah Adjei, noted that the Finance Minister was noncommittal as far as their demands were concerned.

“…upon deliberations and consultations, we realized that the money cannot be paid instantly. So we are of the view that the government should commit itself by writing to tell us that we are going to pay the allowances by the end of November.”

The Finance Ministry representative, however indicated the need for consultation with her superiors before any decision is taken.

“All that we told them was that; we are waiting patiently for them to come out with a written document indicating that the arrears will be paid at the end of the month. When we get this, we will gladly move to the classroom. If not, we will continue with the strike.”

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has made pleas to CETAG to reconsider their decision to strike but to no avail.

CETAG has lamented that, despite a directive by the commission asking the Ministry of Finance to pay the arrears within two weeks, its members are yet to be paid.

According to them, per the migration of the tertiary statuses of the Colleges of Education following the passage of the Colleges of Education Act 847 in 2012, the teachers were expected to be paid the salary difference between their previous salary levels and the new salaries from January to September 2016.

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Colleges of Education still closed as talks over arrears fail appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Anthony K Ameka, the Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana, said that the breakdown in negotiations comes at a point when the services of pharmacists are needed critically.

“The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana sees the breakdown in  negotiations between the parties as most unfortunate, especially at the time when the services of one of the most critical essential service provider (The Pharmacists) are needed to advance our national health goals.”

The chamber has therefore asked government and all stakeholders involved to address the concerns of GHOSPA in order to save lives.

“The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana is, therefore, appealing to the Government and its negotiation team, the national leadership of GHOSPA and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to address these issues urgently and immediately. This is critical to save the lives of Ghanaians.”

“We are all appealing to members of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) to consider their patients and cooperate for a swift resolution. To save lives and prevent the obvious unintended consequences of the strike action, we urge the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, The Ministry for Employment and Labour Relations and the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA to come together with a concrete deal to halt the strike action.”

The chamber also called on the Ministry of Health “to come up with strategies to refocus its policies and actions to forestall future strike actions within the sector to ensure continuous provision of quality, accessible, affordable and equitable health services for all Ghanaians, to better respond to emerging new diseases both nationally and internationally.”

The Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana, inaugurated in 2013, is a platform that seeks to promote, protect, pursue and advocate the collective interests of patients, its members, the pharmaceutical industry and the state.

GHOSPA members on strike

Members of the Government and Hospitals Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) declared on Monday, September 5, that they were commencing an indefinite strike to press home demands for changes to their market premiums.

According to the association, the decision to go on strike was due to the continuous breakdown of negotiations with the government over its grade structure and placement in public health facilities.

Two days into the strike, the National Labour Commission filed  a suit at the Labour Division of the High Court, seeking to compel striking pharmacists to call off their strike.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has ordered heads of pharmacy units in public health institutions to remain at post to ensure that the pharmacies are in operation.

–

By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Address GHOSPA’s concerns now – Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.