Deputy General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Joshua Ansah, says the situation of workers in Ghana has gotten considerably direr in the past few years.
According to him, the prevailing economic conditions in the country have eroded the salaries of workers so much that some workers are unable to afford two square meals in a day.
He noted that the situation has become very worrying and the TUC is determined to ensure that the needs of workers are met timeously to avoid any mishap.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he worried that the unfavourable working conditions for workers are also being exacerbated by some employers taking advantage of the situation to erode workers’ rights.
“It’s very bad, it’s very worse, Evans, I don’t want to mince words at all because this is the situation where workers in this country cannot afford to even have two square meals a day. This is a situation where workers cannot have money for transport to transport themselves from their house or their homes to work.
“This is a situation where your income is eroded by the inflation of this very country, this is a situation where working conditions are being trampled upon by some employers in this very country and because of our labor law that is not too strong, that some of the articles have outlived their usefulness, employers are doing whatever they want to, to workers in this very country. And we all look on,” he said.
He noted that recent 30% increment in base pay for workers were immediately eroded by the PURC’s announcement of a 30% hike in utility tariffs the next day.
According to him, it behoves on government to ensure that workers work in favourable conditions and are rewarded favourably as well, hence, the TUC’s resolve to pursue every single promise made by President Akufo-Addo at the May Day Celebration on Monday.
“So I think this is the worst situation that we find as workers in this country are suffering, they are suffering a sense that in January 2023 We have an increase of 30% on the base pay, this 30% was eroded the following day by PURC announcing 30 something percent increase in utilities and water and so on and so forth. So you can see that we are back to zero.
“Workers are really suffering in this very country and making ends meet. It’s not an easy time for us at all. But as union leaders, we don’t have to look on, we don’t have to raise our hands in the air. We need to fight hard, we need to protect our workers.
“And that is our duty and we continue to protect, we continue to fight hard, we continue to negotiate with the government, and we continue to shake government up so that the right things are done at the right time so that the workers can have a respite in their life because without workers, no wheel can turn in this country.“