'ECG must meet staff over privatization' - Labour expert

A labour expert, Amponsa Boakye Yiadom, has suggested that the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) should meet with the workers and deal with their concerns regarding the privatisation of the state power distributor.

On Tuesday, September 26 PUWU members in Accra picketed the premises of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to register their concerns with the compensation package.

According to the workers, the government has not provided any compensation packages for the workers who will be affected by the takeover, a situation they believe will plummet the standard of living of the affected workers.

The General Secretary of PUWU, Michael Adumatta Nyantakyi, told journalists during the picketing at the premises of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Accra on Tuesday that, the Union will go to court on the matter if their concerns are not addressed by government.

He said,“This action is being done to draw government’s attention to our issue that we think that the payment of severance to staff of ECG should be considered under the on-going arrangement where they want to give out the company to a private operator. And from what we have read, what they are planning to do is that they will move the staff from ECG to go and work for the private operator, and we think that under the labour law, such arrangement should require the payment of what the law calls redundancy pay.”

The workers are also picketing nationwide today, Wednesday, September 27 to further press for their demands.

But speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM on Wednesday, Mr Yiadom Boakye said: “The Management of the ECG will have to meet with PUWU and explain issues to them because it is their responsibility to do so.

“They have no business waiting for the sector minister to be explaining those issues. And so I will suggest that the current management of the ECG will need to meet with the workers, explain issues to them and allay their fears.”