The Member of Parliament for Okaikoi South, Nana Akomea has suggested that frontline ministers who negotiate with labour unions should be trained in the rudiments of labour relations to better equip them in facilitating their work. He said such a training would eliminate the current situation where such ministers use insults and harsh language in the media when there are labour agitations. Various strikes have rocked the country these past months, beginning with some prison officers in the Ashanti Region and with the just ended strike by members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG). Polytechnic teachers across the country are still on strike. The strikes were largely characterized by accusations and counter accusations, amid insults on the part of both parties – ministers and the unionists. Nana Akomea who was speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme Friday stressed the need for the ministers to strive at respecting members of labour unions, especially when negotiations fail. “You have to show leadership in these matters…,” he maintained. He said the impression being created that the president has to come into these issues - sidelining the various institutions in charge of labour issues – before they could be resolved is worrying and that doing so only becomes necessary when frontline negotiators fail to deliver. “The danger is that then anybody gets up and want to send petitions to the president,” he noted. A Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, contributing to the discussion, underscored the need to show mutual respect at the negotiating table, saying “Let us resolve to be more decorous with each other and pursue our causes of concern in a decent manner.” By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana