Mortuary workers call off strike

The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) has called off its strike scheduled to start today, October 1.

The decision followed a meeting between the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and the leadership of the mortuary workers who are demanding a better condition of service.

The two parties agreed that the association call off its strike as the Ministry of Health and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) work towards meeting their demands.

A joint statement signed the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, on behalf of the government and the General Secretary of MOWAG, Richard Kofi Jordan, highlighted the terms as agreed by both parties.

Below are the terms as spelt out in the statement;

• Fair Wages and Salaries Commission should collaborate with MOWAG to resolve the issue of salaries and allowances taking into consideration the risks and uniqueness of their job.
• That Mortuary attendant in health facilities with recorded cases of COVID-19 deaths should be considered as part of the front-line staff and hence benefits from any benefit that it goes with.
• That the Ministry of Health should expedite action on and complete the issuance of appointment letters to eligible mortuary workers.
• That the Ministry of Health should ensure the provision of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Mortuary workers in all health facilities at all times. Those PPEs should not only be limited to those of COVID-19 pandemic but also their routine job assignments.
• That MOWAG should liaise with the Labor Department to resolve matters relating to the issuance of a Collective Bargaining Certificate to MOWAG.
• That all the decisions reached should be implemented within a month.
• That a meeting would be convened among the stakeholders including MOWAG on or before October 27, 2020, to bring finality to the discussions.
• That, MOWAG has agreed to call off their intended strike.

The mortuary workers on September 27 announced their intention to lay down their tools on Thursday, October 1, 2020, to demand better working conditions.

According to the group, the strike is to register their displeasure over what they described as the government’s seeming reluctance in addressing their grievances.

In a statement, the General Secretary of the group, Richard Kofi Jordan said: “members of MOWAG have had to work in intolerable conditions including constantly inhaling dangerous and cancer-causing chemical, formaldehyde”.

“Having become tired of its inactions and being aware that the government appears to be nowhere near taking a serious look at the grievances of the MOWAG, pursuant to resolving same problems, the MOWAG, under article 159 of the Labour Law (Act 651) has now initiated this industrial strike action till its demands are met.”

In 2019, the group embarked on a similar protest over poor working conditions.

Dead bodies were left unattended to leaving families frustrated at the various mortuaries across the country.

Families who also had their relatives in the mortuaries were unable to pick them up to prepare for burial.

Despite earlier assurances from the Ministry of Health to resolve their grievances, the mortuary workers say that promise is yet to be fulfilled.

In their statement, the group said some of their issues included “unresolved issues of salaries, allowances, job placement, and promotions (conditions of service).

Other unresolved issues include “non-provision of personal protective equipment to guarantee safety against the pandemic and other diseases that are confronted on a daily basis at the mortuaries despite all the assurances from the government”.