MOWAG Threatens To Embark On Nationwide Strike, Demands Immediate Action From Gov't
- The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) has announced plans to go on strike in November
- The association said the government has ignored their demands and halted the negotiation process
- MOWAG said if the government failed to address their issues by the end of the month, they would strike
The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) has threatened to go on a nationwide strike in November if its members’ grievances are not addressed immediately.
MOWAG has protested alleged poor working conditions such as low wages, unsafe working conditions, and the government’s refusal to augment worker numbers.
Source: UGC
The association also claimed that workers had not been paid since 2020, and attempts to get the government to address their concerns had all failed.
MOWAG had announced it would embark on indefinite strike action on September 23, 2024, but stood down after getting assurances from government.
However, MOWAG’s General Secretary, Richard Kofi Jordan, told Citi News that the government has been reckless with its demands.
He said the government has been employing several delay tactics to frustrate them such as demanding specific data from them without addressing the core issues being raised by the association.
Jordan noted that mortuary workers continue to work without adequate personal protective equipment and very low wages.
He said that while the association would provide the government with all the necessary data it requested, MOWAG would embark on its strike by November if the government did not begin addressing their concerns by the end of this month.
Why MOWAG is on strike
MOWAG, in their press statement, raised concern about the alarming rate of recorded deaths of mortuary workers in recent times, with 16 workers said to have died so far in 2024.
The organisation linked these deaths to the government's failure to adequately provide them with personal protective equipment, exposing staff to diseases and other health hazards while handling corpses.
MOWAG also noted that its members had not been paid their salaries since 2020, and the government had failed to approve financial clearance to employ an additional 500 mortuary workers despite hospitals nationwide being short of staff.
The association further claimed that the government had also failed to pay mortuary workers their COVID-19 bonuses as President Nana Akufo-Addo had promised.
MOWAG suspends strike
YEN.com.gh also reported that the MOWAG had given the government a two-week ultimatum to address its grievances.
The association has temporarily suspended its strike and opened mortuaries for families seeking their deceased relatives.
The mortuary workers had declared the indefinite strike action, citing poor working conditions among their reasons.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
