A labour expert says there should be a drastic constitutional amendment to change the condition of service for Ghana's legislators. 

Austin Gamey says the vigorous and extensive nature of parliamentary work would not permit any MP to do any other work outside Parliament hence a law must be made to take care of former legislators. 

His comments made on Joy FM's Ghana Connect programme Friday, comes off the back of the death of two former legislators one of whom would be buried on Saturday. 

Parliament was gripped with emotions Wednesday as MPs paid tribute to their departed colleagues while they contemplated life after parliament with elections a month away.

The MPs who are on a GHC7,200 salary are worried about job opportunities when their parliamentary service comes to an end with Parliament set to rise for the last time in 2016.

Even before the December 7 parliamentary elections, 21 New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs are not coming back to parliament after losing their party primaries last June.

On the Majority caucus, more than 16 incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs suffered a similar fate in the party's primaries in November 2015.

Outgoing MP for Osu Shai Doku, David Tetteh-Assumeng who was also a panelist on the programme bemoaned the conditions, former legislators live in, describing it as "an alarming situation."

He said many of these former legislators are languishing in poverty and something urgently needs to be done about the situation. 

Despite these challenges, “The kind of pressure on MPs in terms of request for financial help are so huge. Churches are making demands on us among others," he said.

Although Mr Gamey, a former MP and Minister of State, agrees with the Osu Shai Doku MP, he said legislators must know that they are on a four-year contract which does not guarantee anyone of a return no matter the constituency.

"This is a contract between the MPs and the constituents who will have the pleasure to repeat your contract when they are satisfied with your work," he said, adding, MPs should organise their timetable to make sure their life outside the House is everything but pitiful.

He said though he has been out of Parliament for decades, he still gives money to some of his constituents not because they demand it, but it has become a pattern.

"The people think they have done you a service and it is about time you do same to them."