ECG workers call off intended nationwide blackout
Workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have called off their plans to plunge the nation into darkness on Friday.
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The workers had threatened a nationwide blackout if government goes ahead to launch the 25-year concession agreement that will privatise the ECG.
The workers, among many other things, fear that they may lose their jobs should the company be managed by a private entity.
However, the intended nationwide outage has been called off following an assurance by the Deputy Minister of Power, John Jinapor on Wednesday in an interview on Citi FM.
Admitting that some of the workers’ concerns were legitimate, he assured them that those concerns would be considered.
“…if you are going for a concession, there is some level of uncertainty so we must clarify all those issues; employee security, job security so we are willing a determined to engage further and clarify all those issues and a host of other issues that thy have raised,” he said.
Subsequently, the Senior Staff Union Chairman of the ECG in the Volta region, Novihoho Stephen, said the decision to put out the lights has been reviewed.
“That action will not be taken again, once the minister has come in to explain issues and the things being done to resolve the matter, that is it. We will not go ahead with that move again...It was a form of threat to the government,” he said.
