Government, Labour Unions To Go Into Another Round Of Negotiation Over COLA

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The government of Ghana will later today go into another round of talks with the four striking teacher unions and other labour groups demanding a 20% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

All four teacher unions at the pre-tertiary level have been on strike since July 4, 2022 while several other labour unions are also threatening to follow suit.

The Ghana Medical Association, which is demanding 20% of their basic salary as COLA, has indicated that today’s meeting with the government will inform their next line of action.

“It is only after the negotiations have ended that the GMA can say these are the outcomes… and if they are not okay, then we will have to take a decision.

“But for now, the key thing is that negotiations that were due to start, we will partake fully, and we hope that the employer will come to the table with something concrete that will ultimately appease labour in totality,” Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association GMA, Dr. Justice Yankson, told Citinewsroom.com.

Last week, a meeting between the leadership of the labour unions and government ended in a stalemate.

The meeting with high-level government representation was attended by officials of the Ministry of Finance, the CEO of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Benjamin Arthur; Director-General of Ghana Education Service, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa; Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum and Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah.

The various labour unions are demanding a Cost of Living Allowance over what they describe as the effects of current economic situation within the country.

According to the unions, members are not able to meet the rise in the cost of living.

By: ghanaweb.com