Volta Region: Health workers union renews call for govt to enrol casuals onto payroll

The Health Service Workers Union (HSWU) in the Volta Region has renewed its appeal to the government to enrol casual workers at health facilities, who are paid from internally generated funds (IGF), onto the government payroll.

“These vulnerable workers, who contribute dues to the union, are getting old, and it is intriguing to see new employees of the same category being enrolled on the payroll and posted to the facilities without any consideration for the old hands,” said Emmanuel Bugno Gator, the Volta/Oti Regional Chairman of HSWU, speaking at the 13th Regional Quadrennial Conference of the union in Ho on Monday (March 18).

Mr. Gator expressed concern about the government's attitude towards increasing the salaries of union members after various protests, as well as disparities in the allocation of fuel to some categories of workers. He stressed the need for a careful examination of these issues to restore hope and confidence among the workers.

Dream Homes initiative

On a positive note, Mr. Gator announced that the union had acquired nine land sites for members to purchase plots to build their dream homes. “The documents for the sites are being processed at the Lands Commission, and I encourage members to purchase land when we roll them out for sale,” he said.

Additionally, with support from the national secretariat of the union, land has been purchased for the construction of a regional secretariat for the union.

A representative of the National Leadership of the HSWU, Patricia Tweneboah, highlighted that the union now has 42,000 members nationwide and is working to increase this number. She emphasized the importance of trade union education to update members' knowledge on current labour trends, noting that various international bodies were ready to help the HSWU achieve greater heights.

Ms. Tweneboah urged members to maintain unity and avoid breakaways from the union. The conference, attended by 180 union members from the Volta and Oti regions, also included the election and swearing-in of regional youth committee executives, regional women committee executives, and regional council executives. The 2021-2023 activity report of the regional council of the union and the 2021-2023 financial report were also presented for consideration by the members.