Employers condemn flogging by railway workers

Accra, March 12, GNA - The Ghana Employers' Association (GEA) on Wednesday condemned workers of Ghana Railway Corporation who seized two of their colleagues and flogged them.

A statement signed by Rose Karikari Anang, Executive Director of GEA, described the act as uncivilized and questioned whether the country's rule of law was being deepened or was retrogressing. "We sympathize with the workers having to work for nine months without pay but the way out is not to beat some officials of the Company," it added.

The statement said: "How can local and foreign investors be attracted to a country where the law is not allowed to take its course but resort to such barbaric acts. We need to remind ourselves that capital goes to where there is stability, rule of law and peace." The statement said the GEA had been monitoring developments pertaining to the railway workers and expressed regret that the situation had degenerated to such a level. It said the GEA believed that workers of the Company must be paid for work done and would therefore not condone and connive with any employer who did not honour its obligation in this regard. GEA urged government to speed up the resolution of the impasse and take some bold decisions and move on with the development of the country's railways, which would facilitate economic growth and development.

"The country has come a long way in creating a congenial industrial environment for business and work to thrive and we cannot afford to lose it in the wake of our growth and poverty strategy calling for the creation of wealth and jobs to alleviate poverty," it added.