Workers mark may Day

WORKERS throughout the country observed May Day today with parades at all the regional capitals. The day was marked on the theme, “Decent work and labour standards - necessary conditions for national development”.

From Wa, George Folley reports that about 200 workers undertook a three-hour clean-up exercise at the Wa Government Hospital as part of the celebrations.

They later went on a route march through the principal streets of Wa before converging at the forecourt of the Upper West Regional Co-ordinating Council where they were addressed by the Regional Minister, Mr Sahanun Mogtari.

Mr Mogtari appealed to workers to bear with the government because it inherited serious economic problems. He gave the assurance that the government would continue to work hard towards the raising of the living standards of Ghanaians.

The acting Regional Secretary of the TUC, Mr G. A. Balbaare, drew the government’s attention to numerous problems facing workers and called for immediate solution to them. Eight workers were later honoured for their dedication to duty.

At Sekondi, workers from 17 affiliated bodies of the TUC took part in celebrations at the Gyandu Park, reports Joe Isaac Haizel.

The Western Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Aidoo, in an address, commended workers for promoting a peaceful labour environment in the region. He expressed concern about the high rate of casual labourers in some establishments in the region and called for a review of the labour law concerning casual workers. Sixteen workers were awarded for distinguished service.

From Koforidua, A. Kofoya-Tetteh reports that thousands of workers in the New Juaben Municipality marched through the principal streets of Koforidua with placards some of which read “Restore ESB, it is our future”, “Minimum wage ¢20,000 not ¢7,150”, and “SSNIT, cause of retirement shock”, before converging at the Jackson Park where the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, took the salute and addressed them.

He told them that the NPP Government is committed to making workers, especially those in civil/public service fully satisfied and that the persistent low levels of wages and salaries in both the public and private sectors are to be addressed.

He, therefore, urged the workers to reciprocate the government gesture by eschewing lateness, poor performance and absenteeism in order to increase productivity.

The Eastern Regional Secretary of the TUC, Ms Francisca Borkor Bortey, enumerated the problems of the Ghanaian worker and asked the government to urgently address such issues.

Shirly Quaicoo reports from Cape Coast that hundreds of workers marched through the principal streets of the Cape Coast municipality to mark the day.

They were later joined by the Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Edumadze, the Minister of State in-charge of Basic, Secondary and Girl-Child Education and MP for the area, Ms Christine Churcher and the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Muniru Arafat Nuhu.

In his address, Mr Edumadze called for zero tolerance for industrial action among workers’ unions, saying it is a disincentive to investors.

He gave the assurance that the government would create a conducive environment for workers and urged them to reciprocate by working hard to translate its dream of a Golden Age of Business into a reality. Hundreds of workers in the Brong Ahafo Region went on a float through the principal streets of Sunyani yesterday as part of the celebrations, reports Samuel Kyei-Boateng.

The workers carried placards some of which read: “Workers are partners in development, not slaves”, “Mass transportation: OSA is the answer; revive OSA”, “Positive change should reflect in our pockets”; “Restore ESB immediately,” and “Don’t joke with armed robbers”. They later converged at the Sunyani Coronation Park.

The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Adjei-Duffour, in an address, stressed that the NPP Government is seriously creating the enabling environment which would ensure the efficient and effective utilisation of the factors of production which would result in significant improvement in living conditions of the people.

Eleven workers from the 11 national unions in the region were honoured for their dedicated services. They were each presented with a radio cassette player, a badge and a certificate.

Kwame Asare Boadu reports from Offinso in the Ashanti Region that hundreds of placard bearing workers converged at Offinso to mark the day.

The Offinsohene, Nana Wiafe Akenten III, who addressed the workers after they had paraded through the streets of the town, urged them to use dialogue in addressing problems with management instead of resorting to industrial actions. Nana Wiafe Akenten also called on workers to watch their sexual lifestyles in order to avoid contracting the HIV/AIDS and commended workers for their hard work over the years.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Regional Minister, Mr S. K. Boafo, said the government is pursuing sound economic policies that would soon bear fruits on the labour front.

He called on organised labour to sensitise workers on the need to raise productivity so that employers would be in a position to improve on their conditions of service.

Mr Boafo gave the assurance that the government would continue to provide workers with the necessary inputs to enable them to meet the challenges ahead of them.

The police had a hectic time controlling the milling crowd before the parade of workers in the Greater Accra Region could take place at Tema with no one taking the salute, reports Vic Odoi.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I. C. Quaye, in an address, commended the workers for the peaceful industrial atmosphere currently prevailing in the country.

He appealed to the workers to help maintain the atmosphere in order to attract both local and foreign investments for the country.

On the HIV/AIDS menace, the regional minister stressed the need for a concerted effort to combat the menace to enable the labour force to contribute efficiently towards economic growth.

From Kumasi, Boniface Ablekpe Nana Kwaku Badu, the chairman and Chief Executive of Concerned Transport Operators Union, urged the government to empower the Ghana Road Transport Co-ordinating Council to regulate the activities of road transport operators.

He said this would avoid unnecessary tension, confusion and disturbances that sometimes result in injuries and death among members of the various groups. He made the call at a ceremony marking the May Day celebration in Kumasi during which he congratulated Ghanaian workers for their contributions towards national development.

Nana Badu suggested that activities such as the allocation of lorry parks to operators, income tax collection and even distribution of the 100 vehicles the government has promised the transport operators could be addressed by the council.

He said this will ensure fairness and also help break the monopoly which some operators have enjoyed over the years.