Accra, May 1, GNA - Thousands of placard carrying workers took part in a workers' rally at the Independence Square to mark May Day with messages that mainly called on Government and captains of industries to improve on their working conditions.
As early as 0800 hours, bus loads of workers from all corners of the Greater Accra Region arrived at the grounds and took their positions clad in tee shirts that matched with their organisations' colours. But the dominant colour was white.
Not even the early morning heat could evaporate the enthusiasm of the workers as some of them danced in frenzy to brass band music. The massed bands of the Ghana Police Service and Prison Service were on hand to provide music for the march past.
Ministers, Parliamentarians, members of the Diplomatic Corps and a cross- section of the public took their seats and waited patiently for President John Evans Atta Mills, who was the guest of honour to arrive. They were not to wait for long. First to arrive was Vice-President John Dramani Mahama and then the President dressed in a white short-sleeve with a cap to match, was cheered on by the crowd as he took his position on the dais.
Then was the exchange of pleasantries and the serious speeches. Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress, did not mince words in his address, reminding the President of the huge inequalities in income levels and the need to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor to enable the country's fledgling democracy to work. He asked the Government to pursue pro-poor policy measures such as the Livelihood Empowerment Programme; improvement of the National Health Insurance Scheme; National Youth Employment Programme and the sustenance of housing projects in some parts of the country to improve living standards.
In his reply, President Mills said progress had been made on discussions on the Single-Spine Pay Structure, and Government was studying a report submitted by a Technical Team on the pay policy for further action.
Government is also providing funds and logistics to the Fair Wages/Salaries Commission to execute its mandate, in anticipation of the Single Spine Pay Structure.
"Let me assure you that that the Single Spine Pay Policy remains high on our agenda," President Mills said.
The high point of the Day was the march past in which the workers groups, which included the Public Services Workers Union, Public Utility Workers Union, Communications Workers Union, Industrial and Commercial Workers Union, Civil Servants Association among others, filed past the dais with the President Atta Mills taking the salute. The workers carried placards most of which drew attention of government to the poor working conditions, especially low salary levels, high utility bills and high taxes.
Some of the placards read: "Our living conditions: the value is the same" and "Single-spine salary structure must be fair and equitable." The celebration was observed on the theme: "Improved Standard of Living through Decent Work and Pre-requisite for Sustaining Democratic Governance."
At Lawra, a cross-section of workers in the Upper West Region spent several hours to clean the Lawra District Hospital to commemorate this year's May Day celebrations at Lawra.
They swept round the hospital compound and picked plastic and other waste materials to give the hospital a good look. The workers later marched through some of the principal streets in the town, carrying placards some of which read: "Expedite action on single spine salary structure", "Mass unemployment still exist - government must act now", " End of service benefit still not workable, why?" and "Expedite action on new pension scheme". They congregated at the Lawra town park where, Mr. Mahmud Khalid, Upper West Regional Minister and Mr. Adams Sando, Regional Secretary of Trades Union Congress (TUC.) addressed the workers on behalf of President John Atta Mills and Secretary General of TUC, Mr. Kofi Asamoah respectively.
Mr. Kofi Asamoah, gave the assurance that workers were prepared to play their roles appropriately to push the economic forward but said that would depend if government would give the workers their fair share of the national cake in return.
He called for bold and visionary leadership on the party government to address the poor salaries and working conditions of workers to encourage them to put in their best towards enhancing national economy growth.
President Mills called on workers to cooperate to help build a better Ghana by complementing the efforts of the government. He said democratic governance would strive if workers saw improvement in their lives and called for hard work to increase productivity at workplaces.
President Mills said government was prepared to deal with the inequalities in public workers salaries and that government would negotiate with the leadership of workers to find an amicable solution to the problem. Some workers were awarded for their contributions towards the development of their unions.
