Bring UNICOF to book – Ex-StanChart staff petition TUC

Some former employees of Standard Chartered Bank have appealed to the Ghana Trade Unions Congress (GTUC) to intervene in a matter in which their mother union, the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers Union (UNICOF), together with the bank, withdrew their case from the appeal process.

They are also asking the TUC to assist UNICOF to rectify the anomaly which led to the short-changing of the complainants (affected employees) who were represented by UNICOF.

In a petition filed by Labour Consultant Seth Aboloso, the affected workers said the particulars of unprofessional conduct in the representation complained of, are that the union did not meet the affected workers for their input, and that the unit and departments that the bank indicated in its notice to the Chief Labour Office and the union, in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Act 2003, Act 651, were changed to affect other workers outside the list, on notice, without any protest from the union.

Secondly, that the union, which purports to have represented the workers, was reluctant in bringing the details of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to the attention of the affected workers, necessitating a complaint and request to the then-General Secretary Kofi Asamoah, to prevail on the leadership of the union to make the MoU available as a matter of their fundamental right to information.

Also, that the union’s unprofessional conduct has necessitated the mobilisation of financial resources, at a huge cost, into necessary but unanticipated expenditure in legal and associated costs.

“Wherefore, it is their plea that the TUC, to which UNICOF is affiliated, intervene to have the anomaly rectified by StanChart, failing, which the union should be compelled to make good the shortage suffered by the affected workers”, the statement emphasised.

It added that the affected workers are available to meet with the Secretary-General of the TUC at his earliest convenience to address their concerns in furtherance of the 24 September 2019 meeting.