News:
August 7, 2015
Richard Quarshigah, a former Propaganda Secretary for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Member of Parliament for Keta has insisted that, to him, the current strikes in the labour front, are becoming “destructive.”
According to him, such actions put undue pressure on government and may force subsequent borrowing “which we all want to avoid as a country because it is not helping us.”
Doctors have laid down their tools to demand the provision of a document stating their conditions of service while the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) have also joined a similar cause over what they say are discrepancies on their placement on the Single Spine Salary Structure.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, the Keta MP, Richard Quarshigah said “If the doctors genuinely have a certain demand, we think we should meet those demands but again let’s ask ourselves the question; the kind of demands that are being made are they really very justifiable, looking at our economy? Looking at the revenue that we generate and looking at other salary structures in the country as compared to what doctors take.”
“Is it very rational to make such demands at this time? Is it intended to put undue pressure on government because if such demands are met, other groups will also come in making demands and it will continue to pressure government to look for money elsewhere and this obviously will translate into borrowing which we want to avoid as a country.”
“But again, this whole thing of strike business to me is becoming destructive,” he added.
The University Teachers are also on strike over the delay in the payment of their book and research allowances.
President Mahama has said he will not succumb to pressures from the labour front to pay wages or allowances that have not been captured in the budget.
Meanwhile the President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Kwabena Adusei Poku has said their strike is to agitate for their conditions of service to be captured in 2016 budget.