Workers celebrate their big day
Workers across the country and the world will once again gather today, Monday, May 1, to celebrate their day. In Ghana, there will be an assemblage of various worker unions at regional capitals to share their concerns and to sympathise with those who have fallen in the line of duty.
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Tales will be told of many others who have had to suffer one form of atrocity or the other in bad work environments.
On occasions like this, political leadership and employers are sure to receive an array of complaints about poor working conditions and the need to butter the bread of their employees.
Significance of TUC
As the Workers Day, which has affectionately been christened 'May Day,' is celebrated once more, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is one organisation that cannot be side-stepped.
The Labour Act (Act 651) defines a trade union as any association of workers; its principal purpose is to promote and protect their economic and social interests.
Trade Union exist primarily to protect the collective bargaining rights of all unions under it and to advocate policy intervention concerning labour market and national issues that concern its members.
The TUC of Ghana was founded in 1945 with its membership made up of all workers' groups with more than 500,000 members.
It is affiliated to various international trade organisations, including International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUA).
The TUC is the official mouthpiece of unionised labour in its dealing with government and the employers' association.
As the May Day is celebrated, it is important to laud the TUC for being a formidable force and voice for employees against all the odds.
Apart from the fact that the TUC has been a front liner in negotiating better terms and conditions of service for employees, it has also ensured job security for its members.
The growing need for a safer working environment and equal opportunities at the workplace makes the TUC's role even more crucial.
The concerns
Despite the central role the TUC has played to bridge gaps between employees on one hand and the employers’ associations and government on the other, more needs to be done.
There is a current discussion on the need to extend maternity leave for working mothers to enable them to play their motherhood duties properly after delivery.
Even though the country has gone far in terms of condition of service for workers, there is still more room for improvement.
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Ministry of Finance (MoFA) are currently trekking on different paths following the deletion of the names of some teachers who have not been registered on the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) biometric system.
Also, the recent brouhaha at TV3 over the dismissal of some 30 workers for what management described as illegal protests still remains a scar on job security and the welfare of workers.
Way forward
As workers celebrate their day, the best birthday package government can present to them is to implement prudent measures to improve their welfare, especially those in the public sector.
Stringent measures must also be put in place to ensure that employers in the private sector do not pay their employees below the national minimum wage.
The Marwako Restaurant incident in which a Supervisor dipped the face of a young lady into blended pepper is a wake-up call for supervision to be intensified in private businesses to protect the lives of employees.
Employers and employees need one another for economic activities to be effective. Therefore, it is important to use this May Day to mend all broken relationships and forge ahead in the interest of national development.
