The Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah has intimated that the workforce of the Ghanaian populace need support with regards to access to affordable credit and as such his outfit is in the process of adopting a resolution to establish Labour Banks across the country which will provide flexible credit facilities to workers.
Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah revealed this while speaking at the ‘10th quadrennial delegates’ conference, a three-day programme organised in Kumasi for the Timber and Wood Workers Union (TWWU) of the Trades Union Congress on the theme, “Sustainable forest management in the changing world of work: The role of the union.”
The goals of Labour Banks are to provide more accessible financing for the welfare and mutual aid efforts of labor unions and consumer livelihood cooperatives, promote sound growth and at the same time, contribute to improving the financial status of workers.
Laying emphasis on the reason for establishing a Labour Bank in Ghana, the TUC Secretary General asserted that the main aim for such a decision is to provide workers with reasonable credit to acquire their own houses. Access to affordable housing remains a great challenge for many Ghanaians with most people having no place to lay their heads after retiring from active service.
Although the government has come up with various initiatives to tackle this issue, it still remains. If the Labour Banks are established successfully, this will go a long way to relieve workers of high rent charges which takes a chunk of their salary and also provide decent homes for those who retired from active service.
This initiative combined with the unemployment insurance scheme are very laudable efforts by the government to curb the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah also warned workers to remain mindful of the coronavirus pandemic, entreating all worker to adhere to the various social protocols put in place. He further called for unity among workers to help sustain the strength and solidarity in the fight for better conditions of service for all.
Speaking on the issue of forest management, Dr. Anthony Baah whined that Ghana’s soil and the forests were under severe threat due to their reckless degradation and devastation. He therefore charged trade union members in the agricultural and forestry sectors to remain loyal citizens by preserving our natural habitat as well as strengthen the collaboration and fight against the destruction of Ghana’s forests.
Dr. Anthony Baah finally advised workers to demonstrate greater dedication and work out joint strategies that would promote sustainable forest management to warrant sustainable and decent work for them.
The Acting General Secretary of TWWU, Mark Ofori Asante, sharing his thoughts in an address, stressed the need for members of the union to embrace using modern technology and social media platforms to educate the public on the need to protect the forest.
Reducing forest losses, promoting increased tree planting in communities and limiting human-caused disturbances of the forest were the surest way to guarantee sustainable and decent work in the forest and agricultural sectors, Mr. Asante added.
