AngloGold lay-off must not compound our problems
The alarm bells have been tolling for some time now. The signals were clearly on the wall.
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Although the authorities at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi Mines had denied any elaborate plans to downsize the company, many industry players said only time would tell.
When the management of the mines spoke about its future plans, it only dwelt on operational challenges.
It explained that the mines would be shut down for between 18 and 24 months for upgrading as a result of a number of operational challenges that had bedevilled it in recent times.
In April, the management of the mine hinted that it was drawing up an active plan on a redundancy strategy and the way forward, adding that it had been in talks with the government and all stakeholders with regard to issues confronting it, the future and the survival of the mine.
Residents of Obuasi, the local government authorities of the area, the chiefs and workers have been going through various uncertain moments until last Thursday when it became official that the mine would retrench all its staff in Obuasi.
The Senior Vice-President of AngloGold Ghana told a stakeholders meeting in Obuasi last Thursday that AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi was to embark on a major retrenchment exercise by August this year.
And, as is to be expected, the government reacted swiftly by saying that AngloGold Ashanti had questions to answer on the planned shutdown and retrenchment programme.
The government will certainly not be enthused about this development, in the wake of the growing unemployment situation in the country.
That is not all, as the economic challenges are creating social and economic hardships and no responsible government will sit down unconcerned for the situation to be compounded.
We do not have the exact number of workers who will be thrown out of work, but figures making the rounds have put the number of workers to be affected at 6,500.
This, certainly, is an alarming figure and the exercise will have a serious effect on the affected workers and their families, as well as the local economy of Obuasi.
We are encouraged by the interest the government has shown in the planned retrenchment but we wonder whether it has the power to stop the redundancy programme.
However, the government can ensure that the laid-down procedures are followed to avoid the situation where the workers would be short changed in the whole deal.
If really outmoded technology has made the operations of the mines unprofitable and no longer a going concern, then the obvious step to take is a restructuring exercise that may affect many workers.
Factors responsible for the lay-off, including the rising cost of production, the high underground performance of workers and the unstable world market price of gold, may be beyond the control of the management of the mine.
Nonetheless, we appeal to the government and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to seek a settlement deal that will help the workers find alternative means of livelihood without adding to the already teeming band of unemployed people in the country.
