The leadership of the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) has said they have lost confidence in the National Labour Commission (NLC) to handle its grievances, nine days into their industrial action.
The association has vowed to continue with its industrial action, although the NLC has said the action is illegal.
GHOSPA’s strike is in protest against what it has described as persistent acts of injustice, unfairness, and deliberate delay by the NLC and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to address outstanding issues relating to its members’ Interim Market Premium, and general conditions of service.
Addressing a news conference in Accra on Tuesday September 13, National President of GHOSPA, Agyemang Badu, said the association was ready to face the commission in court.
“Since we declared this strike, the National Labour Commission has rushed to court to sue GHOSPA. We are very surprised at their conduct and impressed with the haste with which they have rushed to court. They have issued express directives on our grievances that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has openly flouted over the last two years, yet NLC has deemed it necessary to activate the legal process of enforcing their order.
“Be as it may, we want to assure the NLC that GHOSPA is ready and determined to meet them in court. NLC has issued a directive that we appear before them tomorrow, Wednesday, 14 September. We will appear to the extent that the issues are on the stalled conditions of service negotiations. We do not believe that there is anything more on our salaries for the NLC to adjudicate after six years. Let us add that the duration of cases before the NLC is a big threat to industrial harmony. Matters concerning essential services like GHOSPA are supposed to be addressed in three working days [but] this issue has been before the Commission for six years.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
