Labour consultant Austin Gamey has issued a warning to the Labour Commission (NLC), highlighting the likelihood of increased industrial actions by various groups and unions in the coming days.
Gamey attributes this potential surge to the government‘s failure to address critical issues raised by unions, particularly in financial matters.
He warned that the National Labour Commission could be overwhelmed if these issues are not promptly addressed.
Gamey emphasizes the importance of the employer’s proactive and responsive approach to prevent discontent among unions, urging effective management of human resources to avoid further strikes.
“They will join and to handle it would be beyond description because the National Labour Commission will be overwhelmed, and the consequences are very dire,” he stated.
Gamey explained that with his years of experience in the field, it appears there is a simmering discontent among various unions regarding financial matters.
“Because of the work we do, our nose smells all these types of things… we are aware that many other unions are concerned about some indebtedness this way or the other,” he added.
Gamey advised that the employer, particularly its human resource management systems, should be proactive and responsive in dealing with the issues, so that the unions would not feel neglected and resort to strikes.
“So, it’s for the employer, especially its human resource management systems, to be activated to ensure that they are very frontal in dealing with the issues so that others do not say that they will have to wait and then cash in,” he stressed.
The country is currently witnessing a wave of strikes from the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana, Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU-TUC), and Ghana Association of University Administrators, who are demanding better conditions of service and payment of their allowances.
Unfortunately, most of the causes of these strikes are traceable to government funtionaries failure. Why should such people continue to be in office if they are failing to drum home to the government what will happen if they fail to honour their part of the obligations.