COLA: Akufo-Addo Steps In

The President of Ghana has urged his side of the negotiating team to rather work with organised Labour to arrive at a solution to the demand for the Cost of Living Allowance.

This was relayed by the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

He noted that the directive of the President came today, ahead of a meeting with the organised Labour.

“@NAkufoAddo has this morning urged the Govt team to work with organised Labour and arrive at a healthy middle ground in the negotiations for COLA, set to hopefully start today”, Oppong Nkrumah tweeted.

Organised Labour led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in May 2022, demanded a 20% Cost of Living Allowance from the government to cushion them in midst of the soaring cost of living.

Two months later, four teacher unions in the country-Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT)- proceeded with industrial action following the government’s failure to address their demands.

Next on the line to declare a strike over the COLA was the Senior Staff Association of Universities yesterday, July 13, 2022.

Other bodies under organised Labour- the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives (GRNM); Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU); Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA); Union of Professional Nurses and Midwives, Ghana (UPNMG); and Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU)- have also declared their intention to embark on an industrial action if the government fails at granting their request for 20% of their basic salaries.

The government has already had meetings with the striking Teacher Unions as well as organised Labour but to no avail.

The government side during one of its meetings directed the striking unions to call off the strike before negotiation takes off.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini