The Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana has stated that it will not compromise on ensuring the rights of its members.
Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah, Secretary General of the Union indicated that his outfit will work to ensure justice is served the 60 workers laid off by the Sunon Asogli Power Limited.
“You know in this country; we have a constitution. The constitution allows every Ghanaian, whether you are a manager or an ordinary worker, to form a union or to join a union, whether you are in the private sector or public sector or even in the informal sector.
“We have the informal sector Union. So whoever is saying that the private sector companies cannot form a union is totally wrong. The constitution gives us that right and that right can never be compromised.”
Dr. Baah
Recalling the events that called for this discussion with Dr. Baah, the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union (GMWU) of the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) threatened to embark on a massive demonstration with the entire Trades Union Congress against Sunon Asogli Power Limited.
According to GMWU, it has since the last quarter of 2021 initiated the process of unionizing the workers of Sunon Asogli Power Limited when over 60 employees applied to join the union, but so far the process has been oppressed with willful interferences, threats and intimidation.
“All have and continue to delay the process leaving in its wake, marginalized and intimidated workers who only have to ensure production for the capitalist gain.”
GMWU
Mineworkers not to unionizing is a violation of their fundamental human rights
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, March 2, 2023, General Secretary of GMWU, Abdul-Moomin Gbana said:
“This is violation of the fundamental rights of Ghanaian workers and the violation of fundamental human rights of Ghanaian workers in Sunon Asogli is violation of Ghanaian workers everywhere.”
“We are prepared to embark on an industrial action with full force of the labor movement because when you touch one, you touch all. We do not see why all the private power producers within the Kpone enclave are part of unions. We do not see why Sunon Asogli should be an exception.”
Gbana
Come March 8, 2023, the union will be holding a meeting with the Sunon Asogli Power Limited with the massive backing of TUC to trash out the issue on board.
Reiterating the words of Abdul-Moomin earlier, Dr. Baah said:
“The Minister for Employment was very swift in his reaction to this and he sent a high power delegation to Tema yesterday (Friday). And I am sure with all these efforts, when we meet on the 8th of March, we should be able to have an amicable solution. We are also doing background things …At the end of the day, we are talking about the right supporters within the constitution of Ghana, within the labor laws, to join or form the union and nobody can stop them…not even the President of Ghana can stop workers from forming a union or joining the union.
“It is our right and that right, we want to exercise so nobody should play with that right. We expect everybody to work with us to ensure that Ghanaian workers, especially, those working under foreign hands are able to exercise their rights as Ghanaians. This is very very important and we are not going to compromise on that.”
Dr. Baah
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