A committee set-up by the President, Mr. J. A. Kufuor, to work out modalities for the Industrial and and Commercial Workers Union(ICWU) and Textiles, Garment and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) to merge to pave the way for the settlement of the case of wrongful dismissal of 462 workers of the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) still hangs in a balance
This is because for the second time, Abraham Koomson-led TEGLEU failed to attend a scheduled meeting, though he could be found at the ATL offices at Akosombo at the dates and times the meetings had been fixed for such purpose.
These were confirmed by some workers at the factory who for fear of losing their jobs would not elaborate.
According to them, they see the action by the TEGLEU General Secretary as a move to frustrate the work of the committee.
The workers say this "hide and seek" tactics being employed by TEGLEU has succeeded because, Mr. Allen Kyeremanteng, Ghana's Ambassador to the United States of America (USA), who is a member of technical support team for the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on the working committee comes into the country every three months.
According to the workers, who are in solidarity with their colleagues, the wrongful dismissal of the 462 workers in August 1999 was politically motivated.
Chronicle gathered that when the industrial action involving the entire 1,570 workers was amicably resolved and the workers resumed work, the former Eastern Regional Minister, Ms. Patience Addow, telephoned the ATL management at Akosombo not to allow them to resume work until she was around the factory, but which she failed to do
According to them, this was at the time TEGLEU had gone to Koforidua to see Ms. Addow.
To gain Ms. Addow's favor, a few workers, as well as those opposed to the ICU began to pinpoint some of the workers and the ICU officials of the factory to the management.
Those workers were victimised, with others being arrested for no apparent reason.
Since the workers had no medium of communication, they decided to meet at Kpong to establish contacts on their recall, but police attacked and beat them up.
Those arrested were framed up with charges and put before the Krobo Odumase circuit court, which after several hearings acquitted and discharged them.
Mr. Austin Gamey, the former Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, who visited the factory on several occasions, failed in his bid to resolve the issue.
According to the workers, they only saw him as a sympathiser and not a minister in the role.
It will be recalled that, the President, Mr. J. A. Kufuor on September 28, last year in his personal intervention brought ICU and TEGLEU together, in which the two respective generals-secretary, Napoleon Kpoh and Abraham Koomson, smoke the peace pipe after eight years of industrial battle.
Meanwhile, Mr. E. A. Ntim, chief labour officer at the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment, has reportedly been sacked for lying to the deputy minister, Mr. Joe Donkor, on the dismissed workers' issue, following a petition by the 462 workers on their wrongful dismissal by the management of ATL.
