MORTUARY WORKERS START INDEFINITE STRIKE

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Mortuary workers in the country have begun an indefinite strike to press home their demand for better working conditions. The industrial action started this morning, Tuesday March 5. 

According to the members of the Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana, MOWAG, the Health Ministry has turned a deaf ear to their concerns which include, lack of maintenance of mortuary facilities, denial of their mandated annual leave and a lack of protective working gear.

 The strike follows an unsuccessful meeting between the leadership of MOWAG and the Ministry of Health. One of the hardest hit mortuaries in the Ashanti region is the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi where bodies from across the region and even beyond are brought for preservation. 

A visit Ashanti Today to the premises of the Pathology Department of the Hospital showed a number of bereaved people already around to collect bodies of their dead relatives. Speaking to Ashanti Today, the patrons, some of who said they arrived at the facility at about 7.30 am Tuesday hoping to retrieve the bodies early enough for burial, expressed disappointment, frustration and were stranded due to delays in accessing the services of the Mortuary Attendants. 

The situation had also affected patronage of auto hearse operators around the mortuary. The leadership of MOWAG said the failure of the Health Ministry to give them a date to negotiate their emoluments with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission forced them to take their current position. 

In line with the strike, the mortuaries will be closed down until further notice. In an interview, the Public Relations Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Mr. Kwame Frimpong, in an interview with Ashanti Today, expressed regret that an earlier meeting between Management of the Hospital and leadership of MOWAG could not help stop the strike action. 

He assured however that, Management has not given up on the matter until calm is restored. The PRO emphasized that despite the nationwide industrial action, mortuary services for deceased patients at the facility would continue.

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