Fair Wages is not being fair to us – Striking lab workers claim

The General Secretary of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU), Cephas Kofi Akortor, says the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has not lived up to its mandate.

The group announced a strike on June 17 over the lack of conditions of service for its members, despite nearly two years of negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The union deemed the last meeting on May 31, 2024, as “disappointing.”

Patients visiting some public health facilities for lab services have been left stranded due to the strike, as some are forced to pay for higher costs of lab services at private facilities.
But the General Secretary of the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union claims the FWSC has failed to fulfil all the promises made to the National Labour Commission, which is a contributory factor for their strike.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on June 19, he said, “Fair Wages is not being fair. Fair Wages should have been a bit more proactive in their engagement because we are essential service workers. We should not be treated like any kind of people,” he said.

Mr Akortor further alleges that the Commission has always treated the union with contempt.

According to him, each time the FWSC agreed to engage with MELPWU, it was always in response to a protest.

“We have never written to them [FWSC] requesting a meeting and Fair Wages will act upon that. At all times our engagement will take about three months cycle. We will have one meeting today, the next engagement will be about three months later, four months later. It has not been fair,” he added.

When asked about the effects of their strike on healthcare delivery, the General Secretary explained that the leadership was in a difficult position because union members believed they were hesitant to strike due to potential government inducement.

He added that the desperation of their members ultimately led to the strike.

Meanwhile, he expressed the hope that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission would invite them to the negotiation table to resolve the issue.

The Ministry of Health a statement on Monday, June 17, said significant progress had been made in the negotiations, with most of the proposed items agreed upon by the government Negotiations Team, urging the union to end the strike and return to the negotiation table.