Mineworkers threaten strike

The Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has sternly cautioned the Labour Commission not to interfere in matters relating to the payment of their salaries.

Our position to deal directly with the Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC) and government to address the huge salary disparities is intact, they noted.

The GMWU warned that it would embark on an industrial action if the Labour Commission attempts to prevent their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).

Speaking at this year’s two-day National Executive Committee Conference of the GMWU at Obuasi, the General Secretary of GMWU, Prince William Ankrah noted that “there will be serious repercussions on the labour front if the Labour Commission puts any impediment in our effort to directly jaw-jaw with government on salary inequalities.”

“As a union, we will not tolerate any lukewarm approach of having our grievances resolved by the labour commission but will rather seek to present our case by ourselves to the FWSC, as well as government,” he said.

He added “we will therefore not countenance any attempt to foil our resolve to have our salaries streamlined by government to reflect those currently on the Single Spine Salary Structure.”

The conference, which brought together over 250 mine union executives and members across the country, was used to deliberate on the impact of falling gold prices on organized labour.

The union appealed to government to offer some tax waivers and other tax incentives to employers so as to cushion them in the wake of falling gold prices.

Reducing the workforce anytime there is a price fall is a purely lazy management option which would only compound the country’s unemployment situation, they maintained.