Members of the Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) across the country will today, Wednesday, September 27 be picketing at the premises of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in all parts of the country to demand compensation following the privatisation of the ECG.
On Tuesday, September 26 PUWU members in Accra picketed the premises of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to register their concerns with the compensation package.
According to the workers, the government has not provided any compensation packages for the workers who will be affected by the takeover, a situation they believe will plummet the standard of living of the affected workers.
The General Secretary of PUWU, Michael Adumatta Nyantakyi, told journalists during the picketing at the premises of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Accra on Tuesday that, the Union will go to court on the matter if their concerns are not addressed by government.
He said: “This action is being done to draw government’s attention to our issue that we think that the payment of severance to staff of ECG should be considered under the on-going arrangement where they want to give out the company to a private operator. And from what we have read, what they are planning to do is that they will move the staff from ECG to go and work for the private operator, and we think that under the labour law, such arrangement should require the payment of what the law calls redundancy pay.”
He added: “We want the government to know that it is something they cannot run away from. If they are embarking on this activity, then they must also respect the rights of the workers and also do the right thing.”
But also speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of the Ghana Yensom show on Accra 100.5FM on Wednesday, September 27 the National Chairman of PUWU, Ali Baba, said: “Today we are also picketing nationwide to further press for our demands.
“This will happen in all the ECG offices across the country, we will continue demanding what is due us until the Energy Ministry and the management of ECG tell us the compensation plan.”