Strikes: IMF and Workers Pull Government in Opposite Directions

Finance Minister, Seth Tekper

The Mahama administration is desperately trying to do the impossible- riding two horses at the same time in opposite directions.

Whiles its recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rule out net increases of over 10 percent of salaries and wages for Government workers some professional organizations and labour union are demanding net increases of more than 500 per cent .

Indeed the cumulative increase demanded by the members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) is in excess of 500 percent.

Already doctors, psychiatric nurses and lawyers at the office of the Attorney- General are on strike and it is expected that other sections of organized labour will join in.

The IMF insists that if the Government of Ghana fails to strictly abide by its 10 per cent calling on net increase in the salaries and wages of public sector workers it will not release bailout funds.

Haruna Iddrisu, Employement and Labour Minister

The IMF has already released about a third of the bailout funds of close to US$ 1 billion to the government of Ghana.

Given all the current circumstances Ghana’s Minister of Finance has a delicate dance to perform.

The chances of the IMF showing some flexibility are almost zero leaving the fate of Ghanaian workers agitating for better conditions of service hanging in the balance.

 It appears that Government of Ghana has hardly any alternatives within the current economic paradigm.

 For Government, the most likely scenario short of adopting radical policy alternatives is to prepare for a prolonged period of disturbances on the labour front. 

Editorial

Strikes and strikes and more

A look at the industrial scene in Ghana reveals strikes all over the place suggesting serious break down of sanity  in Government –employee relations.

Members of Ghana Medical Association (GMA), psychiatric nurses, pharmacists and lawyers at the office of the Attorney- General among several other’s have either laid down their tools or are threatening to do so.

The fact is that Government has a duty to ensure that the state functions efficiently and that is not possible with the spate of strike actions.

On the other hand Government cannot meet unreasonable demands because they will become a precedent to haunt it and other governments in the future.

In our view both government and striking employees need to engage in an open and frank dialogue to find a settlement which would to be realistic and just.

We believe that this is possible if both sides are minded to pursue a broad national agenda rather than accepting the diktat of institutions like the IMF and the World Bank.

Let us solve our own problems our own way.