TUC leaves PURC

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has with immediate effect suspended its membership of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).
The action, according to the General Secretary of TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, was in response to high increases in utility tariffs which, he said, were having negative effects on the Ghanaian worker.

The TUC is at present represented by its chairman, Mr Alex Bonney, as one of the eight commissioners of the PURC.

In a letter dated November 1, 2013 to the PURC and signed by the General Secretary, a copy of which was made available to the Daily Graphic, Mr Asamoah indicated that the TUC could not continue to be part of decisions it considered insensitive to the plight of the workers.

It said the TUC would continue to boycott activities of the commission until the demands for the reduction in tariffs to an affordable level were met.

Mr Asamoah further told the Daily Graphic that the TUC might not be able to attend the proposed meeting with the PURC slated for today to dialogue on issues regarding the recent tariff increases.

The commission had on Friday, November 1, 2013 extended an invitation to organised labour in its bid to resolve amicably the dispute surrounding the September 25 announcement of 78.9 per cent increment in electricity and 52 per cent for water.

But, Mr Asamoah said the TUC had a similar stakeholder engagement with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Chamber of Commerce and the Ghana Employers Association in Accra today.

The meeting, which he said was at the instance of other stakeholder labour unions, was meant to solicit their input so that they could put forth a strong argument for the reduction when the TUC met the PURC.

“We have communicated our decision to the PURC and it is our hope that the meeting would be rescheduled to a later date, possibly tomorrow, so we can deliberate the way forward,” Mr Asamoah said.

Daily Graphic/Ghana