The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has bemoaned government’s inability to hold stakeholders’ engagement on matters pertaining to national interest.

The Congress revealed that although it hasn’t lost hope in the government’s ability to revive the economy, it must be flexible because Ghanaians elected government and they can all contribute to govern the country, so it becomes what it’s desired to be.

Vice Chairman of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ken Tweneboah Koduah, recounted that the imprint of IMF in Ghana, always tries to get the country’s debt issues resolved and also bring investor confidence. However, he noted that it equally brings harsh realities on a section of the population and government must begin to look at how it can fill those gaps.

“I must also add that government’s inability to have stakeholders discuss national issues, not only on this debt restructuring, but on major policies that affect the Ghanaian worker is becoming consistently unacceptable. It cannot be that policies that are geared towards enhancing the ordinary Ghanaian are discussed without getting the stakeholders involved. I believe that if government will open its doors wider for inputs from all stakeholders or national issues, perhaps we can find some solutions to the national issues.”
Ken Tweneboah Koduah

Commenting on the debt restructuring impact on the Ghanaian worker, Mr Koduah questioned why it must always be the case that when it comes to IMF entering Ghana, all the policies it seems to bring, ends up making the Ghanaian worker suffer. He stated that the situation is different for those in politics, as what they acquire in their four years is able to safeguard their pension, while the “poor worker” always bears the brunt of the IMF.

“Look at the budget for 2023, it seems to perhaps promote investors, getting people to have confidence in the country; that is fine. But must that go to freezing employment… After training your children, spending on them all these years, they finish and join the unemployment class depending on parents now whose salaries are already meagre. All the policies in the budget seems to look at the external and it’s about time we look at the internal.”
Ken Tweneboah Koduah

TUC calls for engagement with government on debt restructuring

The TUC Vice Chairman stated that its members are not being selfish, emphasizing that government can achieve its goals “minus pension income”. As such, it must find possible ways to restructure whatever it is to achieve its set goals.

“The VAT element that has been introduced in the budget which seems to enhance revenue, the question we must ask ourselves is this, is Ghana putting in enough measures to ensure that the [tax] that you and I pay, comes back to the government through GRA? We saw GRA try to get businesses to pay the right VAT through the current revision they were doing [and] we saw the backlash, government said please stop. On one breath, you want revenue to distress, on the other breath, you are not encouraging those same institutions to go out there and bring you the needed revenue…”
Ken Tweneboah Koduah

Mr Koduah indicated that the TUC has always been negotiating and engaging government on several issues. However, it explained that for the Congress to reach a resolution with government, the latter must come and sit down for both parties to look at how they can exempt pension income and find other sources to fill that gap.

“We have made our intentions quite clear. It could take any other form including industrial actions. To the extent that the same confidence that we want to have externally will also be derailed. It is not selfish, it is about ensuring that IMF conditions are situated in our context.”
Ken Tweneboah Koduah

It will be recalled that the TUC on December 12, 2022, held a press conference to kick against the debt restructuring by government, among other things. It noted that after a thorough analysis of the Debt Exchange Programme and extensive discussion of its implications, the Congress have come to a firm conclusion that the programme will negatively affect pension funds of members and, consequently, their retirement income security.

It announced its dispatch of a letter to the Minister for Finance demanding that all pension funds invested in government bonds should be completely exempted from the Domestic Debt Exchange programme.