ICU cautions companies against casual workers

The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has cautioned companies to desist from the act of changing status of permanent workers to casual workers.

Some companies in Tema are said to be coercing their workers to quit as well as offering packages to permanent workers to reapply and then are employed by the same company as casual workers.


Mr Eleazar Nyaunu, Tema Regional Officer of ICU, gave the caution on Tuesday during the observation of the maiden "World Precarious Workers' Day" which is to be celebrated annually on October 7.


The theme for the celebration was, "Defend your rights to a secure job".


Mr Nyaunu said information gathered by the ICU indicated that some companies in Tema were turning their innocent permanent workers into casual workers with impunity.


He said the act of employing casuals and outsourcing has become a great threat to permanent work and job security.


He regretted that some workers have been casuals for about 10 to 20 years without accessing due benefits even though they do the same work as the permanent workers.

He stated that about 90 per cent of precarious workers in the Tema Region have no job satisfaction, 50 per cent between the ages of 18 and 54 do not contribute to Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) scheme.


Again 70 per cent of them are not unionised, 60 per cent have no written contract with the companies, 70 per cent are denied on the job training to upgrade themselves, while 80 per cent receive salaries ranging between GH¢70.00 to GH¢700.00 depending on the employee’s qualification, which range from Middle School to Tertiary.


Mr Nyaunu gave the assurance that the ICU would petition government on the situation to enable authorities to address the issue with investors.


Mr Solomon Kotei, General Secretary of ICU, stated in a message read on his behalf that, some employers were abusing the intended application of the privilege of casuals and were giving a "permanent" status to its usage in contravention of section 78 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).


Mr Kotei said the abuse of the precarious workers' rights was prevalent among the Indian, Chinese, Lebanese and Korean employers.


He added that these employers outsource, casualize and contractualize labour to save cost and maximise profit.