Mortuary Workers Suspend Strike

The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) has temporarily suspended its planned indefinite strike, which was due to commence on Friday (27 September), following appeals from various sectors of society.

This decision comes after a meeting between MOWAG and government representatives, including officials from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), teaching hospitals, and the Mortuary and Funeral Facility Agency (MoFFA), on Thursday (26 September).

However, the union insists that the suspension was not due to the government’s intervention.

Richard Kofi Jordan, general secretary of MOWAG, explained that the association was deeply moved by the pleas from the Ghanaian public.

“This strike is suspended as a result of a meeting we had with government but it is not the government meeting which is triggering this suspension; it is the fact that Ghanaians are requesting and are begging,” Jordan stated.

MOWAG had initially planned the strike to demand improved working conditions, including the provision of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and the resolution of salary arrears that have been outstanding for four years.

Jordan expressed frustration with the government’s request for a two-month extension to resolve these issues, pointing out that this would coincide with the election period, a time when the government is likely to be preoccupied with campaigning.

“They are saying we should give them up to [the] end of November, which will enter into [the] first week in December where they will be in their campaign grounds trying to look for votes to win the election; we think it came in bad taste,” he said.

MOWAG has now given the government a two-week ultimatum, ending on Wednesday, (9 October), to address their concerns. If no concrete action is taken by this deadline, the union has vowed to resume its strike action.

“We are giving government two weeks from today, from today up to [the] ninth of October. If they do not address those issues that we have positively presented to their outfits, then we shall trigger that same strike that we are ending now; we’ll trigger that strike until further notice,” Jordan warned.

Source: Asaase Radio