Ghana Federation of Labour calls for revitalization of labour unions
The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) Secretary General, Mr. Abraham Koomson, has emphasized the need to revive the labour unions' organizational setup in order to streamline their interactions with other tripartite partners.
In order to establish a consensus and strategically address the issues affecting workers in the nation, he said there was a need for increased coordination among labour movements.
During a media event that was observed by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema over the weekend, Mr. Koomson made the statement.
He emphasized that by forming a united front, the unions would be better able to defend the interests of all Ghanaian workers by fighting for higher salaries, fair working hours, and safer working conditions.
He claimed that as a result of globalisation, labour unions should be forced to alter how they interact with other tripartite members, namely the government, employers, and other labour unions.
The GFL Secretary-General emphasised that there wouldn't be any labour unions absent employment. "At this time, robots and now artificial intelligence mechanisms are gradually replacing people as factors of production in the world."
"We cannot form workers' unions with robots," he said, "so we must change our game plans for recruiting membership and engaging with management and governments on labour issues." He added that digitization, digitalization, and artificial intelligence have all hit the front banner of labour unions globally.
He bemoaned the fact that unions found it difficult to claim that parties negotiating on behalf of workers represented the collective interests of sizable groups of workers in the absence of widespread representation.
"When we have structures properly positioned, issues will be discussed at levels—committee level, council level—and the recognised structures will be there," he continued, "and the representation to push for public interest will be there."
The GFL Secretary-General continued by saying that when unions have a large base of support, they frequently represent the most effective means of achieving more goals at all levels through increased collective bargaining power.
He also emphasised that the welfare of the Ghanaian worker must come first and warned against political biases that appear to interfere with the activities of the various unions.
He continued by saying that it was past time for the unions to take a cue from the American unions, which had amalgamated and were in a strong position to advocate for the rights of American workers.