Laid off Ejura Farms workers cry for compensation

Ejura(A/R), July 19, GNA - About 35 former workers of Ejura Farms i= n the Ashanti Region laid off in 2008 have appealed to the government to compensate them to enable them access income generating ventures to enhance their living standards.

The Ejura Farms was created in 1969 with the objective of producing maize on a large scale for the country.Some of the workers had served for about 37 years. Nana Yaw Opoku, a former workshop superintendent at the farms, told th= e Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Ejura that the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) laid them off in 2008 with the explanation that new equipment and machines were being acquired.

He said the workers expected some compensation from the government but all to no avail, though some government officials had told them before the redundancy that they would be given some compensation. Nana Opoku said they had petitioned the Commission for Human Rights an= d Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for advice but had not received any response from the Commission.

He appealed to the government to study the records pertaining to their redundancy and offer them the necessary compensation so that they could undertake some economic activities. Nana Opoku said the farms offered job opportunities for a number of th= e youth in the area and appealed to the District Chief Executive, Madam Marth= a Bruckner, to liaise with the government to revamp the project.