ECG staff suspend strike

Workers of state power distributor Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have suspended their sit-down strike which started on Friday, 2 September.

National Secretary for the ECG Workers Union, Patrick Tetteh Binyeme, said the leadership of the Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) met on Monday, 5 September to determine their next line of action after failed attempts to put pressure on government to reverse its intended privatisation of ECG.

He explained that the Union would meet the Power Ministry on Wednesday, 7 September thus their decision to suspend any further action.

“They [government] has invited us so we will go and present our issues and hope for a favourable response after which we will reconvene and take a decision,” he told Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505 news programme on Monday.

The strike was ordered by the leadership of PUWU which said it felt disrespected by the attitude of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) as far as its comments and actions regarding the union’s nationwide demonstration against the privatisation are concerned.

According to PUWU, out of the over 60 companies that expressed interest in the partnering ECG, the MiDA has shortlisted six, out of which one will eventually be selected as the concessionaire. Two of the companies are consortiums while the remaining four are bidding individually. Barring any last-minute hitches, ECG should be handed over to a concessionaire in January 2017.