Government must deal boldly with labour unrest, says Jacob Osei
The independent presidential candidate in Election 2012, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah, has called on the government to be bold in dealing with the labour unrest in the country.
Advertisement
He said if the persistent agitation for wage increases continued, then the government should be bold to lay off 50 per cent of the workforce in the short to medium-term plan.
Reacting to the economic stability challenges facing the country in an interview in Accra, Mr Yeboah said “if care is not taken, this country will come to a crash by 2014 because of workers’ wages.”
Yesterday, organised labour decided to embark on a nation-wide strike action on November 18, 2013 to back its demand for a reduction in the recent tariff increases because of the their poor remuneration.
He recalled that the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, had already hinted that labour wages would rise to GH¢9 billion by, this year, if the current trend continued.
“When this happens, about 90 per cent of the country’s revenue would be spent on wages,” Mr Yeboah stated.
In his view, the Single Spine Salary structure is not sustainable and it has become increasingly difficult to manage.
However, Mr Yeboah pointed out that the government’s desire to complete the process to bring fairness among all workers was creating a lot of challenges for the economy.
“It is up to labour to decide whether labour must be slashed or they will help government to expand the tax net and block leakages of revenue, to stem the tide,” he stressed, and added that “the choice is up to the leadership of labour to maintain their job.”
He cited Greece, Ireland and Spain, as countries which took bold and harsh austerity measures when they found themselves in similar situations.
Ghana’s development partners, especially in Europe, Mr Yeboah said, had taken harsher austerity measures to contain their respective economic meltdowns.
“Definitely, these partners would not be pathetic towards Ghana’s inability to have the political will to deal with the situation. We need to hold the bull by the horn as Ghanaians,” he stated.
“We are expecting real leadership from the TUC on this critical matter,” he stated.
Mr Yeboah also called on Ghanaians to constructively and innovatively criticise the government as well as support it to fulfil its promises.
As a nation, he said, “we have economic stability challenges which require innovative means of dealing with them.”
Mr Yeboah said the high inertia created by political polarisation must give way to obligatory sacrificial momentum by both government and citizens towards development.”
“I would like to appeal to us as Ghanaians that once we have the will in solving the challenges confronting us as a nation, there would be a way for our government to lead us,” he stated.
According to Mr Yeboah, Ghana has enjoyed the extrinsic meaning of peace before the election petition verdict, but immediately after the verdict, the country is gradually losing the intrinsic meaning of peace by the citizens’ own actions and demands.
“I would like to appeal to our inner consciences as individuals, groups, institutions, organisations, opposition political parties and the government as a whole to reflect on what we can do for our country, for it is said that Rome was not built in a day,” he stated.
In his view, the ruling NDC government was faced with striking demands at a time when the nation had been cautioned by the UK and USA governments about the possibility of more deadly terrorists attacks than that of the Kenyan Westgate Mall.
He said terrorism strived well in unstable economies and countries, and added that “this is the time that as one people and one nation with a common destiny, we must unite against terrorism and create the needed serene environment towards our development.”
By Kobby Asmah/Daily Graphic/Ghana
