Single Spine Is Root Cause Of All These Strike Actions – John Boadu

A Deputy Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu is blaming the inertia of government institutions for the numerous strike actions that have hit the country.

According to him, state institutions mandated to resolve industrial actions by labour unions have shirked their responsibilities, thus leaving the presidency to address the labour agitations.

His Excellency John Dramani Mahama bears the unenviable record arguably as the country’s first president to have faced the most number of strikes in the first quarter of his first term.

It started with the education sector, health and now the judiciary.

At the last count, five labour groups have embarked on strike this year. They are the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) who suspended medical services to National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cardholders. This was followed by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Concerned Teachers Association (CCT), the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union and now UTAG.

And it seems the cycle of industrial actions plaguing the country of late will not end anytime soon as Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) have also gone on strike.

John Boadu described as shameful, the season of strikes that have hit the country from such important institutions and believes the root of all these problems is the Single Spine Salary Scheme structure which is not functioning effectively.

“If we are looking just beyond the strike, we must ask whether the Single Spine Salary structure is really executing its aim. That is where all these problems are coming from. Again, is government also disbursing funds to such institution to pay its workers?” he asked

Speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo”, the NPP Deputy Director of Communications said he sees no reason why all issues that can be solved by government establishment are directed to the presidency.

“It will come to a time even just a simple issue; we must call on the president at the Flagg Staff House to solve it. Issues that are to be handle by institutions, they sit idle and they are the first to be at the presidency when emergency meetings are called afterwards…sadly, they (government institutions) will not abide by decisions reached at such meetings,” he lamented.

“I will plead with all institutions tasked with responsibilities to work on time. Heads of committees appointed by government to seek the affairs of the striking teachers…they should work hard to solve these problems,” he urged.