Mineworkers lock horns with Israeli contractor

The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress is locking horns with an Israeli contracting firm in the mining sector over attempts to unionise its members.

Consequently, GMWU has written to the National Labour Commission asking it to compel the company, Pollution to Water (P2W), to adhere to the country’s labour laws.

P2W employs technology that treats water and recycles it back to the mines for mining operations, and has offices in Obuasi, Tarkwa, and Bogoso.

The Deputy General Secretary of the Mineworkers’ Union, Eric K. Gyima, lauded P2W for introducing such an important technology into the mining sector, but added that it does not mean that management of P2W should disregard the country’s labour law which seeks to promote workers’ rights and industrial harmony in the country.

He warned that the anti-union posture adopted by management of P2W has the potential to degenerate into unpleasant labour agitation by the workers. “This will not augur well for harmonious industrial relations in the mining sector,” he said in a statement issued by GMWU.

In a letter from the Labour Department addressed to the Managing Director of P2W in Obuasi, dated July 11, 2013 and sighted by B&FT, the Department notified P2W to submit an agreement on unionisation of its workers within two weeks from the date of receiving the letter. This, however, was not complied with, according to GMWU.

B&FT also sighted a previous letter signed in March of this year by P2W, requesting the Mineworkers’ Union to halt the unionisation process until it had communicated with its Board in Israel on the issue.

GMWU has threatened to use all available means, including industrial unrest, to ensure that the country’s labour laws are respected by P2W.