Treat essential services with urgency — NPP
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged the government to treat such essential service as the health sector with urgency.
Advertisement
The party noted that the situation where medical personnel were not paid for 11 months, pharmacists’ conditions of service not concluded in four years and where doctors’ proposals laid on the negotiation table for over eight months could not be regarded as seriousness on the part of the government in resolving their concerns.
Labour front
Mr Kwabena Agyepong, General Secretary of NPP, who addressed a press conference yesterday, said the party was extremely concerned about the unfortunate developments on the labour front.
He explained that State Attorneys, doctors, nurses,pharmacists, as well as teachers and other public workers, had all expressed their intention to embark on strikes, a situation which would not augur well for the economy.
He stated that the increasing labour unrest was not taking place in a vacuum as it was the culmination of the incompetent handling of the Ghanaian economy, coupled with unprecedented level of corruption.
Huge resources
This,he said , was notwithstanding the fact that the government had had access to huge resources in terms of revenue from taxes, cocoa , gold and oil as well as the record level of borrowing
He, therefore, said that the blame for the current spate of industrial strikes laid squarely on the doorstep of the government and not that of the public sector workers.
Mr Agyepong said the unprofessional manner in which government appointees and their surrogates were handling the sensitive issue was a great concern and worry to many Ghanaians.
Other Trending Stories
Kufuor
He explained that during President Kufuor’s administration he exercised his best endeavours and engaged in constructive dialogue with workers
He said it was time President John Dramani Mahama sat up and took personal interests in ensuring that sustainable solutions were found to the many problems facing the labour front.
Mr Agyepong used the occasion to appeal to the various health professionals in the country to exercise maximum restraint and consider the plight of the poor and afflicted.