The Local Government Service Workers Union (LGSWU) of TUC-Ghana, has expressed dissatisfaction with the non-inclusion of Environmental Health Officers in the list of COVID-19 package for frontline workers.
This comes after government announced a special package for health workers at the forefront of the Covid-19 fight in the country.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the Union, Godfred Nyarko Okyere, said Environmental Health Officers play critical frontline roles by ensuring that COVID-19 corpses are buried under strict health and safety standards to prevent any outbreak at the burial grounds.
Mr Godfred Nyarko Okyere noted that with the upsurge in COVID-19 cases and its associated deaths in Ghana, Environmental Health Officers are on the frontline to ensure that the dead bodies are properly disposed of at the expense of their own lives.
“…What is even more worrying now is the fact that, the country is currently seeing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases and associated deaths and these officers are in the frontline to ensure that the dead bodies are properly disposed of at the expense of their own lives and yet, they are not been recognized,” Mr Okyere said in the press statement.
Speaking to GBC News in an interview on the issue, Mr Okyere said the work of Environmental Health Officers is critical and as such they must be considered first when it comes to frontline workers.
Mr. Okyere said their inclusion in the facility for frontline workers will serve as strong motivation and also enable them to execute the mandate well, especially when it comes to burial of Covid-19 related deaths as the country continues to record high number of cases.
BELOW IS A COPY OF THE STATEMENT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE WORKERS UNION (LGSWU), OF TUC-GHANA, UNHAPPY ABOUT THE CONTINUOUS NEGLECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS FROM THE GOVERNMENT’S COVID-19 PACKAGE FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS
The National Leadership and entire members of the Local Government Service Workers Union (LGSWU), of TUC-Ghana, wish to express our greatest dissatisfaction at the continuous non-inclusion of our hard working Environmental Health Officers in the list of COVID-19 package for frontline workers, which Government announced at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
There is no doubt that this segment of our members, (the Environmental Health Officers,) especially, the Cemetery staff, are playing critical frontline roles by ensuring that the Covid-19 corpses are buried under the utmost health and safety standards, to prevent any outbreak from the burial grounds. What is even more worrying now is the fact that, the country is currently seeing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases and associated deaths and these officers are in the frontline to ensure that the dead bodies are properly disposed of at the expense of their own lives and yet, they are not been recognized.
The union expressed these concerns at its 11th Quadrennial Delegates Conference, held recently at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST, in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The Theme for conference was: The impact of COVID-19 on Labour, the role of the Union (LGSWU).
Other highlights of the conference were the election of new national officers for another four year term, issue of delay in promotions of members which is a major demoralizing factor amongst members within the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), and payment of honorarium to selected few in the Service instead of all classes.
The Conference was conducted in an atmosphere of peace and unity, with the following national executives elected to steer the affairs of the Union for the next four years:
National Chairman: Ing Brother Moses Awenkanab Awarikaro
First National Vice Chairman: Brother Bismark Von Golloh
Second National Vice Chairperson: Sister Priscilla Obeng-Gyabaa
General Secretary: Brother Godfred Nyarko Okyere
Deputy General Secretary: Brother Christopher Abokah
First National Trustee: Brother Cosmos Owusu
Second National Trustee: Brother Abdil Mumuni Moro W.
After the conference in Kumasi, the new elected LGSWU national officers as part of efforts to promote effective stakeholder engagement, met with the Head of Service at the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service in Accra to formerly introduce themselves to the management of the Service. In that meeting, they reiterate their concerns about the neglect of the Environmental Health workers, from enjoying the Government’s Covid-19 package for frontline staff to the Head of Service Ing. Dr. Ato Arthur. They described the continuous neglect of the Environmental Health officers from enjoying the Covid-19 motivation package as a disservice to their members. They therefore appealed to him to use his good office to get the Government to urgently address the issue of Covid-19 package for the frontline Environmental Health officers, looking at the increasing Covid-19 cases and associated deaths being recorded in recent times in the country.
The LGSWU National chairman, Ing. Brother Moses Awenkanab Awarikaro, speaking on behalf of the union said, “As union leaders, we will not shirk our responsibility in giving priority to the welfare, health and safety needs of our members and Ghanaian workers in general. As Local Government Service workers, some of our colleagues are in the front role in the fight against covid-19, especially, the cemetery workers of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Inspectorate, of the Assemblies, who are directly involved in the handling and burial of Covid-19 dead bodies”. He added, “In this global Covid-19 crisis, it is important not to downplay the contributions of any segment of workers, whether at the local or national levels, because, they are all doing their best to prevent the coronavirus from further spread. In view of the huge socio-economic catastrophe countries are going through, that is why our brothers and sisters who are working to safely dispose of the bodies of Covid-19 victims deserve the motivational package that all other frontline workers are enjoying. We, as national officers of LGSWU, pledge to work in collaboration with the management of the Local Government Service (LGS), to engage the relevant authorities to ensure our Environmental Health and Sanitation staff, who are risking their lives daily in handling dead bodies of Covid-19 victims, duly benefit from the Government’s frontline Covid-19 package.”
The Head of Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, on his part, appreciated the concerns of the LGSWU, and said measures are being taken to ensure fairness in the provision of benefits to all staff in the various Assemblies. Regarding the issue of promotions, he said the promotion regime is being reviewed to address bottlenecks relating to promotions and that very soon, all those challenges will be a thing of the past. Addressing the issue raised about the Environmental Health Officers, he gave assurance to the leadership that the issue will be forwarded to the appropriate quarter for redress. He also applauded Environmental Health staff on the critical services they continue to render in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic such that the justification for their inclusion in the package for Covid-19 frontline workers cannot be overemphasized.
Ing. Dr. Arthur also used the opportunity to appeal to the LGSWU national executives to advise their members and staff of the Service as a whole to stop absenteeism, lateness to work, involvement in partisan politics and the leakage of official information, since those acts are unethical and against the code of conduct and conditions of service of public servants. He urged the leadership of the Union to create awareness among members to meticulously discharge their duties in order to avoid any audit infractions that could lead to punitive measures under the Public Financial Management Act.
Issued by Brother Godfred Nyarko Okyere
General Secretary of Local Government Service Workers’ Union (LGSWU) of TUC-Ghana.
