Deputy Minister-designate for Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko-Brobby has stated that strike actions by government employees are inevitable. 

Speaking during his vetting by Parliament's Appointments Committee, Tuesday, June 8, he explained that in an employer-employee relationship there is bound to be strike actions every once in a while.

However, such agitations are not necessarily bad, the MP for Hemang Lower Denkyira Constituency stated, adding that it gives an opportunity for the government to understand the depths of the issue at hand and device measures to solve them.

“Strikes are inevitable, and for us in the Ministry, we do not see them as something bad. Because anytime there is anything like that, we try to delve deeper and understand the issue, and ensure that we resolve it once and for all,” Mr Wireko-Brobby said.

His comment comes after some government employees, in the past month, embarked on strike actions to press home some demands. Among others, the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana went on strike early this month affecting administrative and academic activities.

The Ghana Medical Laboratory Scientists (GMLS) embarked on strike on May 19. The strike, subsequently, affected the delivery of healthcare in the country. Many patients who had to access the labs were denied service. 

For many, going to private labs was not an option. GMLS called off their strike, on June 1, following an engagement with Parliament’s Select Committee on Health.

When asked why the Employment Ministry did not intervene during the GMLS strike, Mr. Wireko Brobby revealed that it was the Ministry that urged the Labour Commission to help deal with the issue. 

The lawmaker said that the Ministry did not shed its responsibility in respect of concerns of the Ghana Medical Laboratory Scientists which eventually led to a strike.

“The issue with strike within the health sector, you resolve issues today, tomorrow there are others that are coming and so on. So, it boils down to the inevitability of strike that I am talking about.”

“But, it is all about these discussions and talking to them and assuring them and with the cooperation of the leadership of the unions, we have all the time ensured that these things come to an amicable end.”