Labour, govt should dialogue

The labour front has witnessed a lot of turbulence this year resulting from industrial actions relating to workers’ demand for improved conditions of service.

At a time when it appeared the phenomenon was fizzling out, the country was hit by yet another strike yesterday by a number of labour unions protesting the failure of the government to take its hands off tier two of their pension scheme.

The workers, under the aegis of the Health Services Workers Union (HSWU), the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA), the Ghana Physician Assistants Association GPAA), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), among other unions, insist that until the government releases the money accrued from their tier-two pension to them to manage, they will not return to work.

Accusations and counter-accusations have been flowing from the camps of the government and the labour unions, while innocent Ghanaians are bearing the brunt of the workers’ action.

The introduction of pension reforms was informed by concerns raised by workers over the low level of pension received by retired public servants under the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme, compared to what pertained under the CAP 30.

Doubtless, a secure pension plan is crucial to providing insurance for the retired worker during his old age.

That is why the introduction of the three-tier pension scheme was seen as a major breakthrough in efforts to bring sanity into the system.

We, therefore, find it a matter of grave concern that instead of discussing how the scheme will address the weaknesses inherent in the SSNIT scheme, we are rather confronted by a strike relating to its management.

The merits of the matter at stake may not be known to us, but suffice it to say that the consequences of the action can be very disastrous on an economy that is not doing very well in recent times.

An industrial action injures not only the entity that it targets but also the generality of society.

The situation is even aggravated when the number of workers embarking on the strike is big enough to bring the economy on its knees.

In the instant case where 12 labour unions are involved in the action, the economic and non-economic losses are unimaginable.

A prolonged strike of such wide magnitude can paralyse the country and aggravate the economic problems of the country.

The Daily Graphic, therefore, calls for cool heads to prevail as the parties work to bring the strike to a speedy end.

We believe it is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war, as no winner will emerge from the present stalemate.