Call off planned strike - Fair Wages Commission to PSWU

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has urged the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) to call off its intended strike on Monday as it violates the rules of engagement.

The commission said delays in negotiation cited by the union for the intended strike was untenable because they were still at the table and the commission was following procedure to deal with the requests on the table; hence, it was premature to go on strike.

“It is important to emphasise that embarking on a strike would rather cause delays in the negotiations since engagement cannot continue while a party at the negotiation table is on strike,” the FWSC said in a statement issued in Accra yesterday.

Details  

The commission said that on September 19, this year, the PSWU submitted a proposal asking for two institution-specific allowances to all 46 PSWU member organisations. 
In that same letter, it said the union threatened to embark on a strike action against the tenets of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).

Immediately after receiving the request, the statement said, the commission invited the leadership of PSWU, including all PSWU member organisations, to a meeting on September 24, this year, to begin deliberations on their request.

At a meeting the following day, the parties had preliminary discussions based on the request submitted by PSWU, signed the rules of engagement and proceeded with negotiations thereafter, the statement added.

Subsequently, the parties agreed that there was a need to develop cost implications and scenarios for the attention of the Ministry of Finance, which was the standard practice, it said.

“It is important to emphasise that some PSWU organisations already enjoy institution-specific allowances; hence, the parties agreed to focus on the institutions that do not enjoy any allowances,” the statement explained.

It further said on September 28, 2024, FWSC submitted cost implication scenarios on the two institution-specific allowances requested by PSWU for member organisations that did not receive institution-specific allowances to the Ministry of Finance.

“Therefore, FWSC cannot be cited for unduly delaying negotiations since the commission has to follow the necessary processes to secure a mandate and conclude negotiations.

“FWSC wishes to state that the decision to embark on strike from October 21, 2024 is against the Rules of Engagement signed and the Labour Act, Act 651, when negotiation is ongoing,” the commission stated.