Fromer MP Tells Pharmacists: Drag The FWSC To Court

The former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ahafo Ano North constituency in the Ashanti Region, Hon. Steven Balado-Manu, has advised the striking members of the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) to drag the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to court for failure to enforce the ruling of the National Labour Commission (NLC) on the grading structure of the pharmacists. �We have laws in this country. The Labour Commission is a body recognized by law in this country to do its work. I was chairman of the labour committee when the labour law was passed, and the role of the Labour commission is outlined in the labour Act. If fortunately for them the Labour commission has ruled and somebody is not trying to implement the ruling, the courts are there. You can go to court to enforce the ruling,� he opined. The former law maker said this on �Big Issues�, a weekend political talk show program on Citi FM, after the head of communications for the Government Hospital Pharmacists (GHOSPA), Nii Ofei Palm revealed that the FWSC has openly ignored the ruling of the NLC in the case brought before it with regards to the grading structure of Pharmacists. Pharmacists working in government hospitals are on strike as a way to pressure the FWSC into accepting the verdict by the NLC on the case with respect to their grading structure. It comes on the back of a series of strike actions on the labour front. At the moment, the University Teachers Association (UTAG) and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) are also on strike with the Judicial Service of Ghana threatening to follow suit. GHOPSA wants the FWSC, which represents government in the negotiations with workers to abide by the ruling of the NLC which the FWSC has flouted so far. Hon. Steven Balado-Manu, however, believes the issue would be best resolved in the law court. �Labour Commission has ruled. Fair wages and Salaries Commission is to implement but they are not implementing it. You are to go to court not against the National Labour Commission, you go to court against the Fair wages to compel them to implement the ruling,� he explained.