President Mahama Must Quickly Regulate Workers Grievances Instead Of Begging Them

Mahama only appealing to workers "to make strikes their last resort" will never bear any useful fruit. They are not making demands just for fun but have a burning social and financial reasons. All what the President must swiftly do is to see to address their issues, that will be the only reasonable way to solving the emerging problems in the country.

President Mahama appealed to public sector while delivering a speech at the May Day celebration held at the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi that workers must make strike actions the last resort, even when all negotiations with government have failed. According to him, organised labour must look beyond self centred agitations and provide cogent ideas, proposal or suggestions to collectively solve the challenges in the labour front.

Workers striking for better condition of service is a constitutional right and falls under workers social democracy, It must therefore be supported and attended to rather than kicking it aside like an empty tin on the street.

President Mahama underscored the need for the incessant strike actions to be curtailed in order to ensure continuous productivity. He said the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) has undoubtedly increased the take-home salary of public sector workers exponentially therefore government expects labour to reciprocate these increases with higher levels of productivity, not with strikes and unbridled agitations.

Conceding that there are some post implementation challenges, President Mahama called for the cooperation of workers, organised labour and key actors in the public sector to achieve a consensus on the matter.

One important thing the President is refusing to see is that, "to blow a whistle very laud you need a strong stomach". Workers are not Robots who can be wined or turned "on and off" like a wrist watch to operate.

If government is not in the position to prioritise and protect organised labour rights to industrial actions, and denies his duty to protect the machinery of state and public service delivery, strike action becomes the most effective option of first resort.

President Mahama who amalgamated facts, said "he is not withstanding satisfied with the mutual cooperation between government and organised labour irrespective of the recent tension and disagreements." He can't be satisfied with the heated tension and still import Doctors from Cuba and also not taking any effective action about the other workers embarking on strikes.

If the president wants to make a concerned and conscious effort to deepen cooperation that can advance the cause of a Better Ghana, he must stop dreaming and wake now to tackle frictions and misunderstanding causing rises to unnecessary agitations in the country. "After all you don't sit down and expect your shadow to be moving."

Going in for numerous Doctors from South America, Cuba is not the best way to solving the strike actions of the Doctors. Anticipating that the Cuban Doctors are going to be paid even more than our Ghanaian Doctors, and moreover in a hard Dollar currency.

FRANCIS TAWIAH (Duisburg - Germany)