Tamale workers in red bands ahead of demonstration

Tamale, June 29, GNA - The Tamale District Council of Labour had resolved that with effect from Tuesday members would wear red bands ahead of a massive nation-wide demonstration.

It is to press government to reduce the recent utility increases, wh ich they consider as astronomical, wild, outrageous and unacceptable. The members said that they were ready to dialogue with government to

arrive at a reasonable increment of tariffs of utilities else they would continue to push harder for a reduction.

The workers arrived at the decision at an emergency meeting in Tamal e on Tuesday, after an earlier was organized on the same subject on 10th Ju ne during which a resolution was sent to government but without any response .. The meeting was attended by workers of various unions' representativ es while similar meetings were also going on in other parts of the country. Mr. Kwaku Darko Aferi, Head of Public Affairs Department of the Trad es Union Congress (TUC), said that the planned demonstration would be simultaneously organized across the country.

He said the Volta River Authority and the Ghana Electricity Company did not accept a suggestion of a reasonable increase of tariffs of utilities while the Public Utility Regulatory Commission did not even consult the TUC before the increment.

Mr. Aferi said that government should have negotiated with workers before taking the decision to increase tariffs. He said the TUC was not fighting for only its members but for the general workforce of the country, many of whom could not come out to speak against the astronomical increases in utilities, saying "TUC is a voice for the voiceless". Mr. Alando Abubakar Sidik, General Secretary of the Ghana Public Ro ad Transport Union, noted that it was surprising that government had defended the increment in utility tariffs when it knew that the 10 per cent increment in salary had still not been paid.

He reminded government that the salaries of Ghanaian worker's were l ow and could not support such increase in tariff of water and electricity. Mr. Sidik said that workers unions were not political entities but groups seeking to protect the interest of the people. He observed that the increment has had a rippling effect on almost everything thing including lorry fairs, food, insurance rates, education and among others.

Mr. Sidik said that the increases of 36 and 89 per cent in tariffs of water and electricity respectively as indicated by the utility companies was not the fact adding that the percentage of increase was far higher. The Chairman of the Tamale Council of Labour, Mr. Abudu Iddirisu cal led on all workers in the Tamale Metropolis to participate in demonstration t hat would take place on a date yet to be communicated to them by the national leadership.