The Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) marked its 80th anniversary on Thursday, urging the government to improve working conditions to motivate members.
“When health workers are well motivated, those who are migrating will stay, those who are not working as expected will give off their best and together the nation will attain its Universal Health coverage targets,” it said
Mr. Franklin Owusu Ansah, the Union’s General Secretary, who made the call in Accra, urged the government to address HSWU’s concerns as soon as feasible and bring them to the bargaining table.
He said that the HSWU had stood for health workers’ rights for the past eighty years and would continue to seek better working conditions for members.
The anniversary celebration was on the theme “Achieving Universal Health Coverage; the role of the health worker.”
Mr. Lawrence Odartey Lawson, Deputy Director, HR, Training and Development at the Ministry of Health said the ministry had faced a variety of challenges in terms of distributing health professionals to areas where services are most needed.
He said this contributed to the inability of the health system to provide and maintain an effective mechanism to attract and retain health personnel in deprived communities.
Mr. Lawson said that the situation had also resulted in instances where some of the few who accept to serve in disadvantaged areas leave their post after a few months of stay, although the productivity of health workers was a critical driver in achieving UHC.
He congratulated all former and present union leaders and members for their contributions to the country’s healthcare system.
Mr. Joshua Ansah, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), noted that health workers encountered issues such as limited staffing, insufficient resources, and, in certain cases, a lack of remuneration and support, all of which affect their work output.
He underscored the need for the government to increase investment, provide funds, and improve health infrastructure, supply chain, and management services to address the challenges in the sector.
Mr. Ansah explained that achieving UHC was a collective endeavor, and the country must invest adequately in health workers.
The HSWU, founded 80 years ago, operates in the health sector and covers all government-owned hospitals, health institutions, and mission hospitals.
These include Ghana Health Service, Teaching Hospitals, Christian Health Association of Ghana, Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Hospitals, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), Private Health Institutions, Statutory Public Health Institutions, National Ambulance Services, and Health Training Institutions.
Its membership covers all health workers who fall within the jurisdiction, except the very top managerial personnel and the 1965 breakaway professional Associations mentioned under the origins of the national union.
As a trade union movement, the HSWU works to maintain and enhance working conditions for its members through industrial relations, collective bargaining, and negotiations to secure fair and equitable labour compensation.
It also aims to maintain good relations with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Teaching Hospitals (THs), and their respective divisional employers and management.