CPC AGM nearly marred by workers' protests

Accra, Aug. 22, GNA - The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) was nearly marred on Tuesday when the junior staff of unionised workers held a demonstration claiming that the Managing Director does not listen to their suggestions.

The demonstrators besieged the Osu Presbyterian Church Hall, where the meeting was being held, halting proceedings for over 45 minutes. It took a team of about 20 policemen, led by ASP James Annor, District Commander, to restore calm for the meeting to proceed. To the surprise of the Board of Directors, most of the shareholders at the meeting who had expressed disappointment over the three cedis dividend per share, cheered the protestors on.

Mr. Albert Adoari, Chairman of the Union, who presented a copy of their petition to the press, said the major problem workers had with management was an announcement to cut down labour, poor conditions of service, old buses and the sale of the company's buses to Pergah Transport Limited without the involvement of the union.

He said the poor condition of buses used by Pergah Transport which had been contracted to convey workers to and from the company, resulted in an accident in which one worker died and many injured. "To our utter surprise, four of the Company's buses were sold out to Pergah Transport Limited on hire purchase basis .... without the union's consent," he added.

Nana Obiri Boahen, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said the management had embarked on revamping the company. It had bought a new processing plant and which needed only five people to run it necessitating the cut down in the number of workers, he added. Nana Boahen said the company had never had any major rehabilitation since its establishment in 1965 and it was necessary to buy the new plant valued 153.221 billion cedis for its operations. He said since February this year, management had been having problems with workers over the redundancy issue, adding that the 560 workforce could not be maintained and that a redundancy package was being worked out in accordance with the labour law.

Mr. Richard Amarh Tetteh, Managing Director of the CPC said the company was making profits through the revamping, but due to the expansion programme, the profit margin was narrowed, adding that the 3.00 cedis per share, was a token signifying more good things for the years ahead.

He said the company reported a net profit of 7.409 billion cedis or 8.60 cedis per share for 2004/2005 compared to 4.631 billion cedis or 5.38 per share for 2003/2004.

He said the 'Royale Natural Cocoa Power'' introduced into the market last year, as a result of the company's continued product development activities was gaining popularity, adding that the company was researching to give consumers a wide range of products like utilizing cashew and tiger nuts in some of its confectionary products.

Mr Tetteh said the company was dedicated to ensuring the safety and health of employees, the community in which it operated and the general environment hence it had invested heavily in those areas. He said the company produced the best chocolate in the world which won it the International Award last year.

He said it was considering ways to make the products affordable to consumers by cutting operational costs, adding that operational costs reduced from 313.3 billion cedis in 2003/2004 to 249.4 billion cedis in 2004/2005 whereas turnover for 2004/2005 was 279.6 billion cedis. A shareholder and cocoa farmer, Nana Kwaku Danquah IV, said the award the company won meant it made a lot of profits but it did not manifest in the dividend for shareholders.

He called on the company to reduce the prices of the chocolate to make it affordable for the ordinary person.

Madam Margaret Adoley Acquaye also a shareholder noted that the company had cheated the shareholders, adding that management was saving the money to buy extravagant gifts to give out during Christmas and New Year festivities.