7,000 Timber Workers Lose Job

About 7,000 timber workers lost their jobs between January and October, this year following the collapse of a number of timber companies, mostly sawmills countrywide, according to the Timber and Wood Workers Union of the TUC.

Last year, 3,000 workers in the industry reportedly lost their jobs under similar circumstances.

In a resolution adopted at its 36th annual National Executive Council meeting here at the weekend, the Union said the surviving companies "are unable to pay salaries of their workers for periods ranging from three to eight months."

It therefore called for government’s immediate intervention to resuscitate it in order to save the large army of timber workers in the country from the imminent danger of losing their jobs.

Noting that over 25 sawmills had already collapsed with about 20 more currently on the verge of collapse, the union attributed the gloomy situation largely to inconsistent legislations and other regulatory polices, excessive taxation and high production costs.

It stated that the timber industry, a key component of the national economy contributing about six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been beset with myriad problems dominated by a dwindling forest resource and constant review of regulatory policies which threaten its viability and continued survival.

Urging the government to institute realistic measures to revive the industry, the union cited as an example, the Chinese government offer of subsidies to its timber industry to enable it to compete favourably on the world market.

The union also registered its disapproval of the current low wages for workers in the country and urged the Tripartite Committee to, as a matter of urgency, make the necessary efforts to determine a living wage for the nation.

Touching on the re-denomination of the cedi, it asked the Central Bank and government to intensify the public education exercise to ease its implementation.

Whilst describing the National Health Insurance Scheme as an effective and more reliable tool for enhancing health care delivery in the country, the union however, deplored the low coverage of the scheme.

It therefore called for the intensification of efforts to speed up the registration exercise to ensure that majority of the population benefit from it.