Organized labour threatens demo over utility increases

Tamale, June 10, GNA - The Tamale District Council of Labour of TUC on Thursday threatened to join the mother organization to demonstrate against the increase in utility tariffs that they said would make the Ghanaian worker poorer.

They therefore called on the government at an emergency meeting to reverse the increases in water and electricity tariffs without any further delay else they would "advise themselves".

They described the increases of 36 and 89 per cent in tariffs of water and electricity as "astronomical, wild, untenable, outrageous and unacceptable" and that such increases were bound to affect all other services and sectors of the economy and worsen the condition of the ordinary Ghanaian worker.

The workers, who comprise all unionists in the region, said the Ghanaian worker was already burdened with hardships in the education of their children, care and welfare of their families and the increase would make it worse.

They said the increases could not be the solution to the problems confronting the utility companies. They said the government must rather strengthen the managerial and supervisory sectors of the utility providers to check mismanagement, wastage and other negative activities.

"We the members of the Tamale District Council of Labour solidly support the National Headquarters' call on government to reverse the tariffs increase without further delay." The Chairman of the Tamale Council of Labour, Mr. Abudu Iddirisu, described government's actions as unfair to the worker by increasing salaries by only 10 per cent as against the 36 and 89 increases in water and electrify respectively.