Workers in Central Region Join Nationwide Demo

Cape Coast, July 24, GNA - Workers from organized labour unions in the Central Region were not left out in the nationwide demonstration against high cost of living as more than 300 of them in the Cape Coast Metropolis took to the streets on Thursday to register their displeasure.

Clad in red attire and bands the protesters, carrying placards marched from Mfantsipim School Junction through the Kotokuraba Market, Commercial and Jackson streets, Kingsway and converged at the Victoria Park where union leaders took turns to address them.

Some of the placards read 'Workers need better conditions of service; provide a healthy environment for economic growth', 'Ghana's Economy is suffering from Kwashiorkor', 'John Dumsor Mahama, please Fix the economy', 'Increase of fuel and tariffs must trigger increase in emoluments', Ghana Cedi is in prison, please bail it out'.

Some residents and traders lined up along the streets and cheered to register their support for the exercise.

Sixty police Personnel from the Central Regional Police Command were present to ensure a peaceful demonstration.

Addressing the workers Mr. Samuel Kweku Doughan, Regional Secretary of the TUC, expressed disappointment at the performance of the government and said living conditions in the country were not good.

He spoke about the sorry state of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and feared that the same would happen to the second tier pension scheme if care was not taken.

He said workers would not sit idle and watch the worse to happen to them and therefore urged the government to work to fix the economy and ensure better conditions of service for workers to help stem the numerous agitations on the labour front.

Alhaji Apam Nuhu, the General Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), said the demonstration was not an expression of hate towards the government but an act of patriotism on the part of workers to keep the government on its toes.

He blamed the low sense of commitment to work on the part of leaders and said it was about time the government 'arrested the depreciation to save the Ghanaian worker and the people of Ghana'

He appealed to them to be committed to their work and if they felt they were not up to the task, they should step aside for committed people to manage the affairs of the nation.

Mr. William Coleman, Regional Chairman of the Judicial Service Association of Ghana (JUSAG) accused government of being swift with tax deductions from monthly salaries without attaching same swiftness to the welfare of workers.

He said keeping the home was becoming unbearable adding that 'no other success can compensate for the failure at home', re-echoing calls on the Government to put into place the necessary structures to sustain the economy and to give better service conditions to the Ghanaian worker.

The workers were asked by their leaders to go back to their various places of work since the exercise was just to 'bare their teeth' and not a strike.

Meanwhile work in the Central Business district was not affected but some offices in the Ministries Building were closed till later in the afternoon when some workers showed up.

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