Union demands restoration of Conversion Difference for health workers
The Regular National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Health Services Workers Union (HSWU) of Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), has asked government to restore Convention Difference for health workers.
The Union said at the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), members whose Health Spine Salary Structure (HSSS) salary was more than the Single Spine Salary Structure was marked to have a conversion difference.
That, amount, according to the Union, was to be paid to those individuals until annual negotiated increases wipes out the conversion difference.
Mr Reynolds Ofosu Tenkorang, General Secretary of HSWU, addressing the media at the just ended 21st NEC meeting at Tema, said government had since paid the amount for only three months.
“In the view of this, we call on the government to pay any member who was made worse off due to the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy their salary arrears due since it will affect their pension as well,” he added.
On the issues of Market Premium, the NEC called on government and Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to defreeze it from 2012 and pay all arrears due their members to alleviate the plights of members who have not seen any increment in the Market Premium since 2012.
Mr Tinkorang noted that, as part of wooing health workers unto the SSSS, the government agreed to pay Market Premium to staff of the public health sector.
The General Secretary explained that after the implementation, the allowance, which was a percentage of one’s basic salary, had been frozen since 2013 without any reasonable excuse.
“NEC is also calling on government to implement fully their negotiated Collective Agreement as agreed from January 1, 2016 immediately without delay and respect the principles underpinning Collective Bargaining by inviting the Union for a review of this agreement,” he added.
The Union negotiated a Collective Agreement and signed it with government in 2015 with implementation taking effect from January 1, 2016.
“In it are issues like Promotions, Transfer Grants, Uniform Allowances, among others. The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health wrote letters accenting to its implementation without any budgetary provision,” he added.
The NEC was also not pleased with government’s failure to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was signed between them and the Ghana Association of Laboratory Scientists, also members of HSWU of TUC.
“The Union is calling on the Ministry of Health to implement fully all the issues in the signed MOU with the Association on June 1, 2018 to avoid them revisiting the industrial action,” he added.
The NEC, therefore, called on government to invite the Union to resolve the above issues and failure to meet them to resolve the issues by August 21, 2018, they would advise themselves.
The NEC urged members to monitor the media landscape and the leadership structures for the necessary information.
Source: GNA