The National Labour Commission (NLC) has directed the Public Services Workers’ Union (PSWU) to call off the indefinite strike by its National Identification Authority (NIA) division and return to work.
The Union is to also ensure local union leaders resume negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and other parties over the unresolved issues that led to the strike.
The directive comes after the Commission, chaired by Justice Kwabena Asuman Adu (rtd), held a hearing yesterday regarding the strike declaration by the PSWU-NIA Divisional Executive Council over grievances including delays in negotiating better conditions of service for NIA employees.
The strike which started on Monday has since brought work at NIA offices especially registration and issuance of Ghana Cards to a standstill with numerous applicants stranded.
Having heard from both parties and in separate caucuses at the hearing, Justice Adu ruled that the declaration of the strike was illegal and a clear contravention of section 161 of the Labour Act of 2003.
The Commission further directed that since FWSC had invited the parties to a meeting on Friday to discuss outstanding issues, parties should make it a point to negotiate in good faith.
Briefing the media after the hearing, the Director of Salaries Administration of the FWSC, Cephas Amada, said that the proceedings have been fair to all parties involved and that would continue with negotiations as already planned.
He said at the last meeting on May 22 this year, the unions present had expressed satisfaction with the processes, contradicting their recent claims of undue delays.
“We are ready to continue negotiations in good faith as we have always done. We have already issued invitation letters to the unions and management of NIA to meet them on Friday. So we are ready,” he said.
The Deputy General Secretary of PSWU, John Donu, expressed discontent with the NLC’s ruling, stating they had hoped the substantive issues would be addressed instead of focusing solely on procedural matters.
He revealed the union would convene an emergency council meeting to decide their next steps but stated if the current negotiations failed to resolve their grievances, the national union would step in and possibly declare a strike.
While indicating a readiness to continue dialogue, the PSWU boss emphasised the need to see commitment from the government side to treat NIA workers equally as other institutions.
“I am unable to now say here that we have called off the strike action, because I am representing people.We are going to call them. We will put our options on the table. We will deliberate upon it, and the decision that we will take will communicate to NIA,” he said.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
