The University Laboratory Technologists and Technicians Association (ULTTA) has called for support in accessing its hazard allowance, which is “presently being pursued at the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.”
“We all know that there are some chemical, biological and physical sources of hazards that pose a wide range of health hazards to those who are exposed to these sources on a daily basis,” the ULTTA Chair Mrs. Joyce Duah stated.
Speaking at the inauguration of the University Laboratory Technologists and Technicians Association, she explained that “long-term exposure to chemical hazards such as silica dust (commonly used in desiccators found in every laboratory) has been shown to increase risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.”
This, therefore, “is in order for personnel in the laboratory to be compensated for this risk. We, therefore, urge management and the unions to work hard for government to accept to implement the excessive exposure to health hazard allowance.”
Mrs. Joyce Duah added that since its establishment in 2019 it has “created visibility of its members and contributed to the competence of the various laboratories to enable effective teaching, learning, and research.”
Also, “there have been continuous efforts by its leadership to help build the capacity of its members in the College of Health Sciences and College of Basic and Applied Sciences through workshops and seminars on laboratory quality management, ISO standards, the use and maintenance of various sophisticated modern equipment among others,” she stated.
A representative of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo applauded the association as it will help to achieve one of the key strategic plans in being “a world-class research-intensive university over the next decade.”
“You know that we cannot have high-quality research without a world-class laboratory, so it is for this reason that I am happy that you have congregated yourself to be able to help the university to champion itself,” he said.