TUC Boss Slams Labour Draft Bill

Mr. Christian Appiah-Agyei, the outgoing Secretary-General of the TUC, has criticised the draft bill of the Labour Law, because it does not conform to proposed reforms made available to the government.

His criticism follows the discovery of "some very conflict-laden provisions."

The TUC boss mentioned the proposed criminalisation of industrial relations offences, multiple union representation at the Enterprise level and an attempt to impede the unionisation of professional and management staff against International Labour Organisation laws.

While addressing the just-ended Quadrennial Delegates Conference of TUC in Kumasi, Appiah Agyei also pointed to a proposal to legalise what, he said, was wrongfully described as "sympathy strike" in the Draft Bill.

According to him, the "sympathy strike" was a strategy to disable the TUC from employing its organisational strength to take a decision to strike.

He observed that the employer had been given discretionary powers on the implementation of the check-off system.

Appiah Agyei noted that reforms were usually undertaken to achieve improvement and not to worsen existing arrangements, and urged the government not to cause a setback to the peaceful industrial relations atmosphere by the introduction of controversial provisions into the labour law.

He said the TUC was ready for dialogue to iron out the contradictory positions until a codified labour law was finally enacted.

On the national minimum wage, Appiah Agyei submitted that it must correspond to the high cost of living.

He said the TUC would relentlessly resist attempts by the government to fix the minimum daily wage at ?5,500.

Appiah Agyei suggested that the Tripartrite Minimum Wage fixing machinery should be employed to determine a more realistic wage.

He cautioned the government not to underestimate the resolve of the Ghanaian worker to sustain the struggle to secure a realistic minimum wage towards the provision of "the very basic needs."