Skilled workers against increase in utility bills

Skilled workers in the Eastern Region have rejected the proposed increase in utility bills by the utility providers.

Speaking at a consultative forum organized by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), at Koforidua, many tailors, dressmakers, hairdressers and small scale investors who spoke at the forum were of the opinion that, any increase in utility bills would seriously affect their work and forced them to close down their businesses.

They argued that, already, they are saddled with high taxes from the Ghana Revenue Authority and the district assemblies, which is eroding their earnings.

They claimed that, they have workers to pay and also take care of many apprentices, from deprived rural communities, whose parents could not provide for their feeding and other cost of their training and so they have to step in to support the situation.

The skilled workers claimed their situation was worsened by the very tight economic situation in the country, as a result of which workers who come to sew dresses refuse to come for their dresses because they have no money to pay and even ladies who come to style their hair make promises of coming back to honour the bills, which they never did.

The Eastern Regional Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mrs Phyllis Agyemang called on the utility providing agencies to reduce the wastages and stop passing on their inefficiency unto consumers.

She said, workers had not received any salary increase and so cannot afford any increase in the cost of utility services.

Mrs Agyemang said workers and employers were facing a lot of challenges with the power outages and therefore any increase in electricity bills at this time was wrong.

Other participants at the forum complain about long list of problems in relation to the acquisition of electricity and water services.

Mr Daniel Owusu Koranteng, a member of the PURC, who chaired the function said, the reactions of the participants at the forum had given the Commission a lot of work to think about and would seriously consider the reaction of the participants.

Volta River Authority (VRA), representing power generators is demanding a 100 per cent increase in rates, while GRIDCO was demanding 25 percent increase. Electricity Company of Ghana is demanding over 100 percent increase and the Ghana Water Company is demanding an increase of its basic rate from Gh¢ 1.70 per a unit of water to Gh¢ 4.00.