Editorial: Strike actions come with heavy financial tolls

While industrial actions are a legitimate form of expressing worker-grievance, it is pertinent to learn the heavy financial toll that labour strikes impose on the nation.

In 2024, the country experienced 22 strikes. Those 22 strikes cost the nation GH¢1.47billion. In 2025, we had eight strikes and they cost the nation about GH¢635million.

Dr. George Smith-Graham, Chief Executive Officer-Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), disclosed this during a dialogue with Organised Labour at Jubilee House in Accra this week.

The economic impact of labour unrest is huge. That is why recent tensions which led to industrial action by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) are worrisome.

The Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has given strong assurances that government will move swiftly to address the concerns raised.

He indicated that all necessary consultations will be undertaken within a 14-day window agreed upon, signalling a sense of urgency and seriousness on the part of authorities.

Explaining the current difficulty with the impasse, Dr. Pelpuo noted that budgets are made to consider everything you are going to do within the financial year. Therefore, if something comes up within this period before end of the financial year, it becomes an intrusion.

It then becomes necessary to engage in consultations until a compromise is reached. The strike’s suspension is expected to bring temporary relief for public sector operations as workers return to their posts on March 24 while negotiations continue.

The association announced the suspension after what both sides described as productive discussions aimed at finding a lasting solution to issues at hand.

The conundrum surrounding these frequent industrial actions is that they are mainly embarked upon to demand better terms of service, but the man-hours lost in terms of productivity also contributes to dissipation of crucial revenue.

So, the question is how to demand better terms of service without also causing financial distress to the whole system.  Quite tricky, but a balancing act is required in this regard.

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