VR records low turn-out in Organised Labour demonstration

Ho, July 24, GNA - A handful of workers in the Volta Region turned out for a planned demonstration by Organised Labour in Ho on Thursday.

The regional demonstration, which was part of a nationwide protest against 'economic hardship and poor governance,' delayed for about an hour due to the poor patronage.

There were about 200 police personnel, some in mufti, deployed to ensure law and order, were practically more than the demonstrators, who danced to brass band music throughout the about 20-minute march through some streets in the regional capital.

They carried placards, some of which read, 'Oh Mahama, Never Again', 'Reduce the Tax Burden,' 'Umbrella killing Ghana softly', 'Motivate the Ghanaian Worker for a Healthier Economy', 'Middle Income Country, Low Income Workers', among others.

Scores of workers who did not turn up for the demonstration were seen loitering around their offices at the ministries.

Some of the demonstrators decried the low turn-out and blamed the organizers for poor planning.

Mr Elvis Van-Lare, Regional Secretary, Trades Union Congress,   told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the 'number was good.'

'This is just Ho. Our colleagues in the districts could not come so I think the number is okay,' he said.

Mr Van-Lare presented a petition to the President on behalf of workers in the region through the Regional Minister, demanding that immediate action be taken by government to halt the depreciation of the cedi and the rising cost of living.

The petition also demanded that government desisted from imposing pension trust schemes on public sector workers, and take action to address widespread perception of corruption in high offices, among others.

It quoted the Directive Principles of State Policy of the 1992 Constitution, section 36 (1) that, 'the State shall take all necessary action to ensure that the national economy is managed in such a manner as to maximize the rate of economic development and to ensure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every person in Ghana and to provide adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment and public assistance to the needy.'

Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, Volta Regional Minister, promised to deliver the petition to President John Dramani Mahama, and commended the workers for a peaceful demonstration.

She said government was doing its best, saying, 'the nation is like a gold going through refinery, so at the end everyone will be happy.'

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