‘Pay attention to struggling industries’
The General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), Mr Solomon Kotei, has advised the government to pay attention to struggling industries before creating new ones.
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“Why create new babies when the old ones are still crawling?” he queried in an interaction with journalists at the 10th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the ICU in the Greater Accra Region.
Mr Kotei was of the view that the existing industries had to be supported to become global competitors, thereby providing jobs, before any thoughts of “creating one factory for one district”.
Achievement
In his keynote address to delegates, Mr Kotei reported that the executives had done “what is humanly possible in achieving the tasks set in 2013 at the 9th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference.”
He said the tasks, which included ensuring an end to the casualisation of employment which was becoming common in institutions; ensuring that Ghanaians patronised made-in-Ghana goods for the sustenance of enterprises; working towards the integration of the ICU with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and ensuring lower taxes on some overtime work and incomes, had all been worked at faithfully with gains.
Mr Kotei also announced that the National Executive Committee (NEC) had approved the theme for the 10th national quadrennial conference to be held in Kumasi.
Explaining the rationale for the theme selected, which is “Our employer’s vision: our concern”, Mr Kotei said the changing economic environment and dynamics of the informal sector demanded a change in industrial relations.
He said in collective bargaining negotiations, some employers showed negative returns, and that resulted in a situation where employees’ demands could not be met.
At other times, the employees themselves would request a zero percentage increase on their salaries, being aware of the dire situation the industry was in.
With that background, it was time for employees and employers to co-own the company to ensure sustenance and the attendant guarantee of jobs for all, Mr Kotei said.
Dedication
An Executive Member of the ICU in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Ephraim Agidi, reminded the regional executive members that union work was difficult, hence needed dedication.
He also urged delegates to vote for dedicated executive members.
Welcoming delegates, an ICU Regional Officer, Mr Thomas Atiah, flagged some weaknesses in the Labour Act for action.
He said sections under the Labour Act 651, providing for the termination of employment, had to be clarified in order for employers not to use the section carte blanche.
He also raised concerns about the Labour Act and how it impacted on agencies in the country.
“Is the agency the employer or the company outsourcing from the agency?” he asked.
New executive members of the Accra Regional branch of the ICU were elected to replace the old executive members, whose tenure had ended.
The executive members are the Regional Chairman, Mr Ephraim Agidi; the Vice Regional Chairperson, Ms Dinah Dosuh; the Regional Secretary, Mr Thomas Atiah and the Regional Trustee, Mr Samuel Dzikunu.
The rest are the Regional Women’s Representative, Ms Belinda Cochrance and the Regional Youth Representative, Mrs Anita Nyarko Yirenkyi.
They will have a tenure of four years.