Accra, Nov. 29 GNA - Mr. Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) was on Thursday elected as the new General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation - Africa Regional Organisation (ITUC-Africa) in Accra.
The 108 delegates made up of 60 National Trades Unions from 44 African countries attending the founding congress of the new union unanimously approved his election.
He thus, becomes the first Ghanaian to head the new Pan-African Union following the merger of the former International Confederation of Free Trades Unions -African Regional Organisation (ICFTU-AFRO), the Democratic Organisation of African Workers Trades Union (DOAWTU) and other independent trade unions to form ITUC-Africa.
Mr Adu-Amankwah in his acceptance speech thanked the delegates for their confidence in him and for assigning him the responsibility.
He called on the trade unions to reflect on the sorry situation of Africa today and the numerous challenges that face its workers and the people at large.
"Our African story is familiar to most of us and also a similar one, varying largely in terms of range and degree with no exception.
"It is persistent poverty, hunger and malnutrition, unemployment, suffocating debt burden, child labour, conflict, bad governance and corruption, weak social dialogue or its complete absence," he said He reminded the delegates of the possibilities available to Africa if they could get their act together and rise-up to their historic responsibilities.
He said discussions and contributions from participants at the congress demonstrate that majority of the delegates know the contribution the ITUC-Africa could make to change the fortunes of the working people.
Mr Adu-Amankwah also reiterated concerns raised by delegates on the need to overcome the proliferation of unions and translate regional unity into unity at national level.
He backed the participants call on ITUC-Africa to assist with the strengthening of national centres, focus on pillars of organisation, international democracy, worker control and accountability as well as social mobilization. He expressed the desire of ITUC-Africa to have a close collaboration with the Global Union Federations (GUFS) in Africa. "We hope that we can structure the relationship between ITUC-Africa and the GUFS in Africa in such a manner as to achieve full synergies between these two complementary international trade union structures," he added.
