Council of Labour calls for realistic minimum wage

The Kwaebibirim District Council of Labour has called on the Tripartite Committee to come out with a realistic minimum wage taking into account the high cost of living and the proposed increase in electricity tariffs.

Making the call at its general meeting at Kade in the Eastern Region the council called on the government to always declare the minimum wage before coming out with the annual budget. On the End of Service Benefits (ESB) the council added its voice to the call on the government to reintroduce it.

The council expressed regret that even though the previous government abolished ESB in 1991 as a result of what it claimed "lack of resources or ability to pay" the same government found it expedient to pay benefits to ministers, parliamentarians and other government functionaries at the end of their tenure of office. ''What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander".

Speaking on: "Retirement; Preparing for the shock," the Eastern Region Principal Industrial Relations Officer of the Health Service Workers Union (HSWU), Mr Reynolds Ofosu Tenkorang said the Trades Union Congress (TUC) considered retirements very important.

Mr Tenkorang said the stress of retirement often precipitated serious sickness and even death, especially for those who failed to develop other interests outside their jobs. He, therefore, called on employees to plan towards their retirement well so that they would not lead dejected lives.

Mr Tenkorang advised that employees should start what they intended doing after retirement when they attained the age of 50 years. On the forthcoming District Assembly elections he said since it was not partisan organised labour should take keen interest to get more of its members to the assemblies to champion the cause of workers.

On the alarming rate of spousal murder in the country, Mr Tenkorang said it was a source of worry to the labour movement and appealed to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), religious bodies and organised labour to launch an education campaign against it.