Western Region: Health Service Workers Union Trains 30 Branch Officers In Leadership Skills

In its bid to strengthen the capacity of its members with basic leadership skills as well as to sensitize its members with Trade Union administration, the Health Services Workers Union of Trade Union Congress, Ghana has held a two-day residential workshop for thirty members here in the Sefwi Wiawso municipality.

The 30 participants were drawn from 15 branches from the northern and middle belts of the HSWU in the Western Region. Participants were taken through Benefits of joining trade union; HSWU structures and functions; Trade Union Finance and Administration; Meeting terms and Concepts, and introduction to labour Act, 2003(Act 651). The rest are Workmen’s Compensation Law, 1987(PNDCL 187); Occupational Health, Safety and Environment; National Pensions Act 2008(Act 766), and Compensation of SSNIT Pension under PNDCL 247.

Officially opening the Workshop, a Principal Health Service Administrator at the Sefwi Wiawso Municipal Hospital Mr. Mr. Habib Ganiyu commended the Health Services Workers Union for initiating such a training workshop to equip its members’ skills that will enhance the capacity of union members to better provide leadership at their various jurisdictions.

He said the programme is line with contemporary trade unionism where the struggle is more of mental aptitude rather than the former practice of “machoeism” by workers. To the Hospital Administrator himself a member of the Union, the workshop will assist the Union to propel the realization of the aspiration of members. Mr. Ganiyu therefore charged participants to take the training workshop serious. He charged participants to endeavour to relay the skills that they will acquire from the workshop to rest of the members at the branches they are each coming from.

He asked participants to be proud of the Health Services Workers union and endeavour to hold it in high esteem since the Acts that established Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals recognizes it and further mentions the union to be represented on the management committee.

On his part a Senior Industrial Relations Officer responsible for the HSWU in the Western Region, Mr. Jerry Detse Mensah-Pah noted the training workshop is a systematic introduction of union officers to their job, the Union’s structure and functions as well as key issues pertaining work and in the labour fronts.

Mr. Mensah-Pah said the HSWU recognizing that union officers at the grass root level have particular training and development needs; hence the workshop for the rank and file the need to learn about the organisation and its culture, learn how to do their jobs as trade union officers and be introduced to industrial relations.

“The focus on specific basic skills on trade union administration permits trade unionofficers at the branch level to improve their performance and thus feel a sense of achievement. Adding that the Health Services Workers Union, in turn, has a need to accelerate the trade union officers’ integration and make them operationally competent.

Employee engagement takes place when people at work are interested in and positive, even excited about their jobs and prepared to go the extra mile to get them done to the best of their ability.

It may seem to be strikingly obvious that commitment will only be gained if people understand what they are expected to commit to.

Commitment is enhanced if managers can gain the confidence and respect of their teams, and development programmes to improve the quality of leadership should form an important part any strategy for increasing commitment. Management training can also be focused on increasing the competence of managers in specific areas of their responsibility for gaining commitment, eg performance management.