ECG customers frustrated at action of striking workers
Some customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have expressed disappointment and frustration at the strike by workers of the company.
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Customers are being denied services rendered by the company at the various offices, as the protest entered day two yesterday.
Workers of the ECG, who are part of the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU), were directed by the union to withdraw their services, except for emergency cases, for two working days — Friday, September 2 and Monday, September 5, 2016.
The action was to protest against what they described as “gross disrespect and lack of trust” showed them by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) over the planned privatisation of the company by the government.
But the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) is worried that consumers of electricity will be compelled to engage in illegal connections if the management of the ECG fails to resolve the ongoing labour unrest.
The Director of Public Relations and External Affairs at the PURC, Nana Yaa Jantuah, said the ECG ought not lose sight of the fact that distribution of electricity was an essential service and, therefore, “under no circumstance should consumers be made to bear the brunt of striking workers”.
The PUWU last Friday directed workers of the ECG not to attend to official duties for two days until the government backed down on plans to privatise the company through the MiDA.
PURC’s position
Ms Jantuah told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the action of the ECG workers was not only inconveniencing consumers but also leading to revenue loss for the company.
According to her, many angry customers who spoke to the commission’s monitoring team that went round the various offices of the ECG last Friday and yesterday had declared their intention to embark on illegal connections if the ECG workers failed to attend to their needs.
“Nobody is saying the workers should not go on strike, but the management ought to put in place a contingency plan, considering that the ECG is an essential service provider,” Ms Jantuah said.
“Would they go to their union for their salaries at the end of the month if they fail to meet their target for the month as a result of the actions they had taken which could contribute to a reduction in their revenue for the month?” she asked.
She hinted that the inability of the management of the ECG to put in place a contingency plan within the period the unrest lasted would attract the necessary sanctions and penalties from the PURC.
Customers react
During visits to some ECG offices in Accra by the Daily Graphic it was observed that customers who had visited those offices for various services were stranded behind locked entrances and gates.
Some of them hung around, hoping that the workers would change their mind and serve them, while other customers turned away as soon as they saw the situation.
At the Accra West Regional Office at Avenor, a customer, Florence Ashong, said: “I have been sleeping in darkness since Saturday. I came this morning to buy power only to be told that they are still on strike.”
While sympathising with the workers on their concerns, Ms Ashong said they needed to find better ways to address their concerns.
Another customer, Kojo Aware, who had come to replace his missing prepaid card, said he was told the workers were not working. However, one worker approached him and told him to pay GH¢20 so that he could get the card for him.
When the Daily Graphic checked, the cost of prepaid card replacement was GH¢5.
Background
According to the PUWU, the current protest was triggered by a “disrespectful attitude and breach of faith” showed them by MiDA.
The union said during the first protest last two weeks, the Ministry of Power and MiDA had called for a meeting which was scheduled for August 30, 2016.
However, because it was delayed, much could not be discussed and so it was rescheduled to September 8, 2016.
“We were waiting for the due date to go for the meeting, only to hear on August 31, 2016 that MiDA had sent out the request for proposals to bidders, an act which clearly shows breach of faith, betrayal of trust and disrespect to us,” it said.
A meeting between the Ministry of Power and the executive of PUWU to discuss the workers’ concerns was held last week.
Although details of the meeting were not disclosed, reports indicated that another meeting was expected between the parties next week.