Trust Hospital staff union marks 10 years of resilience

The Trust Hospital staff union has celebrated its 10th anniversary in Accra, with management acknowledging the union's role in turning around the struggling health facility, while pledging continued support for workers.

Dr Henry Alhassan, the Supervising Director and CEO of the Trust Hospital Company Limited, said that since the board of directors was inaugurated a year ago, they had conducted checks, confirmed existing challenges and instituted systems to correct them.

"The hospital is now a more settled place for workers," Dr Alhassan said, though he cautioned that "we are not out of the woods; tremendous problems still exist."

He assured staff of his full support, revealing that the hospital had reduced its losses from GH¢24 million to just GH¢3 million.

"This year is to make profit," he declared. The CEO commended the union for being proactive and for motivating workers to work hard.

A turbulent beginning

The Trust Hospital began as the medical department of SSNIT before being hived off in 2010 to become a limited liability company.

With the exception of the then general manager, all staff members were declared redundant. Those interested in continuing were re-engaged on significantly reduced salaries.

According to Dr Festus Nii Boye Boye, the Chairman of the Professional and Managerial Staff Union (PMSU), two triggers sparked the move towards unionisation.

The first was that the general manager remained the only staff member on SSNIT payroll, continuing to enjoy full benefits, while the rest of the staff had their salaries slashed and most allowances dropped. 

The second trigger came when a staff member asked about the reintroduction of the Provident Fund.

Dr Boye Boye quoted the general manager as replying, "I will not do it today and I will not do it tomorrow."

A new era of partnership

However, he said Dr Alhassan has brought "incredible support and cooperation."

"Until then, it was all suspicion, accusations and counter-accusations and acrimony,” adding “this partnership has removed the fear, tension and intimidation that characterised the previous era."

A Former ICU General Secretary, Solomon Kotei, tasked the union with continuing to work with management and ironing out differences for the common good of all workers.

"Accept that being in the union comes with challenges and you must be prepared for them," Mr Kotei said. He lauded members for sustaining the union for ten years and charged them to continue for the next decade.