TUC to march to Jubilee House over dismissal of 3 local union leaders at Sunon Asogli Power
The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) says it is ready to exhaust all options available in ensuring that three local union leaders dismissed in March this year at Sunon Asogli Power are reinstated.
Secretary-General of TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah indicated that one of the options is to have the over 20 unions under TUC march to the Jubilee if government is yet to appreciate the severity of the matter at hand.
According to him, government’s action leaves much to be desired.
“The entire organised labour will be involved in this because it touches on our fundamental rights as workers of Ghana. Our constitutional rights are enshrined in the 1992 Constitution. We will never allow this to stand.”
“We will not allow the president to rest until he acts on this matter because he is the Commander-In-Chief and he has to uphold the constitution of this country. That is why we elected him”
He was at a loss as he described the actions of the power company a blatant disregard for the laws of the country.
“So if some Chinese investors come to Ghana to violate our laws enshrined in the constitution of Ghana, we expect the President to act. If the president doesn’t act, we will act”.
Scores of members of the union on Tuesday, March 9, 2023, clad in red, holding placards, singing and under police protection gathered at Kpone in the Greater Accra region and marched towards premises of the power producer.
Asked if the TUC had engaged management of Sunon Asogli Power, Dr. Baah responded in the affirmative with the said meeting yielding no positive result.
Aside management of the company, TUC said the issue has gone before the Employment and Labour Minister and others who matter but there hasn’t been any favourable outcome.
National Chair of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, Kwarko Mensah Gyakari in an interview with Joy Business believes their action is to send a clear signal to employers as to how to handle employee issues.
“Sunon Asogli Power is willing to compensate the three dismissed local union leaders but that is not why we’re here. At the Labour Commission they said that those guys have done nothing wrong. They have decided that they are getting them off”.
“The next action is going to follow from the Ghana Mine Workers and other unions and because of that, you are going to hear from us as to what we are going to do going forward. We will never, ever sit down for these things to continue for these Chinese guys to have their way”.
TUC is displeased with the dismissal of three local union leaders at Sunon Asogli Power with some employees having decided to be part of Ghana Mine Workers Union.
The power company last week issued a release in which it stated that it is not against unionisation but the process in which it is done.
“Sunon Asogli is not and has never been against unionisation. Indeed, the company is aware of the right of our employees under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), to join a union. The issue has been about the procedure and approach adopted by the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union,” the statement read.
The company said it is working closely with relevant authorities to bring finality to the matter.
Source: Ghana News
