GTUC organises leadership training for women
The Deputy Head of Education and Training of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Dr Kennedy Achakoma, has challenged women in the union to be assertive and take up key positions to enable them to participate actively in programmes aimed at discussing and addressing labour issues confronting women, particularly those in northern Ghana.
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He observed that women within the GTUC were capable of holding key positions provided they "come out of their shelves and make themselves readily available to take up leadership positions to help transform the lives of their colleagues at the labour front".
Dr Achakoma made the call at the close of a four-day leadership training workshop for female members of the GTUC and the youth in the Upper East Region in Bolgatanga.
It was organised by the GTUC Secretariat with support from the Rosa Luxembourg Foundation, West Africa Office.
Strategic policy of GTUC
Dr Achakoma, who was also a facilitator at the workshop, noted that as part of the strategic policy of the GTUC, the capacities of women and the youth have to be developed to enable them to overcome the challenges posed by globalisation, and also make meaningful contributions to building a formidable union.
According to him, over the years, the issues of women and the youth have not been given much attention although they formed the majority of the GTUC membership.
He said to address the problem, the participants were given basic training, which would be followed with additional training at the intermediate and advanced levels to enable them to complete the whole training package in developing leadership skills.
Dr Achakoma indicated that with support from the Rosa Luxembourg Foundation, the GTUC was thinking of developing an Economic Literacy Manual to further equip its members with the needed skills. Already, he said the Foundation had supported the GTUC to produce a productivity and work ethics manual.
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A Researcher at the Labour Research and Policy Institute of the GTUC, Mrs Mary Karimu, said it was regrettable that over the years women in the GTUC mainly aspired for positions at the lower levels within the GTUC, adding they were now being encouraged to aspire for higher positions such as the chairmanship and vice chairmanship positions.
The Upper East Regional Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), Mr Hippolyte Alua, on behalf of the Regional Secretary of the TUC, thanked the facilitators and team who organised the workshop for the participants.
Participants
He also expressed delight at the interest shown by the participants and was optimistic that they would make effective use of the knowledge acquired.
The workshop was attended by 50 participants, comprising mostly women (trs) from the Upper East Region.
They discussed issues such as communication skills and public speaking, meeting procedure, managing trade unions, industrial relations, collective bargaining and grievance handling, history of trade unionism in Ghana and occupational health, safety and environment.
The participants were presented with certificates while others were honoured for their commitment to the training programme.