Organized Labour has declared that it will oppose the government’s proposal to implement a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in place of raising salaries for public sector employees during salary negotiations the following year.
When immediate salary increases cannot be made, government employees are given the COLA allowance as a temporary solution.
According to Organized Labour, it is rejecting the COLA because it won’t improve pension payments or other benefits in any way.
Joshua Ansah, the Deputy General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), said in an interview with journalists in Accra that Organized Labour will demand a pay increase rather than just a COLA.
“I don’t think it will be wise for us to go for COLA because COLA does not affect our pensions, doesn’t affect our earnings. So we think that it is better for us to go straight and get what is due us. And remember that I made the point that if the government wants to go to the IMF we want to caution the government that their decisions and their conditions should not impact our minimum wage in this country and I think that we will stand by that,” he added.
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Organized Labour rejects Sunon Asogli’s offer of financial compensation
In the meantime, Organized Labour chose to reinstate its fired local union executives of the Ghana Mineworkers Union of TUC over Sunon Asogli Power Limited’s offer of a monetary compensation package.
Organized Labor rejected Sunon Asogli’s offer to compensate the fired union leaders with a total of GH1.2 million, stating that it wanted the union leaders to be reinstated instead.
Joshua Ansah, the TUC’s deputy secretary general, stated to the media that Organized Labor is not yet prepared to “monetize their rights.”
“We are not after money. We are fighting for the principle of the rights of workers,” he said.
Ansah also expressed disappointment with Sunon Asogli for refusing to reinstate the union leaders, saying that the company’s decision is “wrongful.”
“We are disappointed that Sunon Asogli is refusing to reinstate the union leaders. Their termination was wrongful, and we believe that they should be reinstated,” he said.
The reinstatement of the union leaders will be fought for by Organized Labor, according to Ansah, until the proper choice is made.
