Registrar of the Mortuaries and Funeral Facilities Agency, Francis Ennin, has attributed the death of several Ghanaian mortuary workers to lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
During a recent visit to the Aowin Municipality in the Western North Region, he described the situation as alarming and called for urgent action to address the PPE shortage.
PPEs protect workers from health and safety risks when handling dead bodies and biological materials.
Dead bodies carrying infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and COVID-19 can transmit these diseases to the morticians handling them. Items like gloves, boots, and masks help prevent cuts, needle injuries, or exposure to sharp instruments used during body preparation.
In a related development, in 2024, the Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG), called for better working conditions, fairer wages, a safer workplace, and sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for its workers.
According to MOWAG, these concerns have been unresolved since 2019, despite repeated appeals to the government.
Richard Kofi Jordan, MOWAG’s General Secretary, voiced the Association’s frustration during an interview with Citi FM, accusing the government of stalling the process by frequently requesting irrelevant information rather than tackling the issues directly.
Jordan highlighted that, despite efforts to engage with officials, mortuary workers continue to operate in hazardous environments that jeopardise their health and safety.
MOWAG contends that the government’s delayed response has created an unsustainable situation for its members.
As a final measure, Jordan noted, MOWAG members are now prepared to strike if no progress is made, hoping that this warning will compel the authorities to act promptly to prevent disruptions to essential services nationwide.
“We cannot strike in the middle of the month. So we are planning towards another week. It could be the end of this month, it could be the first week of next month [November], whichever it is, we will communicate the same to the public, and then you understand.”
“As I speak to you, the government has demanded certain data from us, and we feel that it is a way to delay the process. They demanded certain data from us, which we are providing.
“But that is not enough for us to say that we are not going to embark on our strike. We will surely strike if what we are asking for is not met within this month,” he said.
In 2024, families found themselves unable to access the Korle-Bu Hospital Mortuary to retrieve their deceased loved ones on September 26.
At the same time, those wishing to deposit bodies for preservation faced disappointment as mortuary workers were on strike, seeking better working conditions.
During a visit to the morgue by a TV3 news team, groups of distraught families gathered only to learn that the morticians were not available. After waiting for hours without any assistance, many sought shade under nearby trees to escape the heat.
While the families did not participate in formal interviews, they voiced their frustration over the situation and its implications for their burial plans. Several families had hoped to have the bodies released on Thursday in preparation for weekend funerals, but that was not possible.
The strike by the mortuary workers is a protest against poor working conditions and mistreatment. They reported hazardous work environments, inadequate protective gear, and insufficient facilities, stressing that the lack of respect for their vital services has pushed them to take this action.
As outlined in Section 159 of Ghana’s Labour Law, Act 651 (2003), this strike is legitimate, allowing workers to withdraw their services due to unsafe or unfair conditions.
The Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana demanded improvements in their working conditions, as well as fair wages, benefits, and overtime pay.
Off the record, the workers told TV3 that they would not dress the bodies for several days and would allow them to smell until their demands were met by authorities.
