An Accra High Court has dismissed an injunction application filed by some aggrieved workers of the Electricity of Ghana (ECG) seeking to put on hold implementation of the agreement that will lead to private sector participation in the management of the company.
The workers dragged the government to the court, insisting they should be paid redundancy package because the implementation of the Millennium Challenge Compact does not guarantee them their jobs in future.
The Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) also joined the suit, which they asked, among other things, for a declaration that the decision by the Minister of Energy to conduct redundancy negotiations with individual employees of the ECG, including the plaintiffs, is illegal and constitutes a gross violation of Section 65 of the Labour Act.
The plaintiffs also prayed the court to order the defendants to comply with the provisions of the Labour Act by going through the proper redundancy process as laid down in the country’s laws and pay the plaintiffs’ redundancy pay (severance package) in accordance with the stipulation in the law and the collective agreement between the workers and the ECG.
Government through the Attorney General, opposed the application insisting the transfer of workers was legal under the Labour laws and that government will suffer “serious hardship” if the application is granted.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Laurenda Owusu dismissed the application concurring with the Attorney General that the government will suffer serious hardship if the ongoing implementation is halted.
She added that the government could at any point compensate workers if the substantive matter goes in favour of the workers.