Sierra Leone Health Service Workers Union Strategizes 5 Year Work Plan
The Sierra Leone Health Workers Service Union (SLHSWU) has put strategies in place to run the union successfully in the next five years.
Responding to an interview in Freetown, the newly elected President for the Sierra Leone Health Service Workers Union, Sankoh Sesay told this medium in Freetown that they have strategized for the next five years long, short and medium term work plan adding that the major function of the union is to protect the rights and responsibilities of its members.
He said the short term plan makes relevance to fill all vacant position in the union and mentioned that their second plan is the retreat which he said was staged in the Southern City of Bo where thanksgivings held in Mosque and Church to give glory to God.
‘’We also want to retrieve or secure our lands through court of law’’, he told Journalists and stated they are going to turn sod to construct their land in Kenema City and mentioned that they have existing offices in Bo and Makeni.
Mr. Sankoh stressed that his leadership doesn’t believed in strike action but relied on negotiating or dialoguing with key stakeholders for amicable solution. He expressed believed that the current Minister of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), Dr. Alpha Wurie is open up to discussion to solve issues internally than going on strike action.
‘’We are not going to allow our health service providers to be sacked unlawfully’’, he said and continued that they are going to take the union which he said had existed for over thirty-three (33) years to the people. He explained plan to engage all hospitals and PHU’s to know about the work of the union.
He described SLHSWU as a big institution with membership across the country and demonstrated happiness and proud to head a union that comprised health professionals.
In his response, the Secretary General of SLHSWU, Ansu Rashid Kalokoh described the just concluded retreat in Bo which he said, attracted all executive workers of the union as important and timely and spoke on the important for the union which he said, has taken three decades should now have a short, medium and long term plan for it to develop from strength to strength
‘’We want to see that the issue of improved condition of services among health service workers are maintained’’, he told the media and emphasized on their determination to mobilize more membership for the union.
He pointed out that the retreat also looked at the necessity involves to engage all professionals in the medical field to know the essence of belonging to the union and dilated that the International Labor Organization (ILO) convention emphasized on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. He further discussed that the union has technocrats to engage on how to engage Government before going on strike action.
However, the Sectary General disclosed that the break in communication between the union and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation as one of their major challenges adding the issue of the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) as another challenge and encouraged Government to talk to the HRMO for workers to know their time of retirement and to access their end of service benefit and concluded that they are working not for individual but for the benefit of all members of the union.
By Abdulai Mento Kamara
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