Mr Kwarko Mensah Gyakari, National Chairman, Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) Of TUC, Ghana says the industry players have introduced a destructive non-standard form of employment termed ‘Fixed term’ contract, outsourced workers, temporary and casual workers.
He said this type of employment arrangement without any doubt was the most destructive but that was the working arrangement most if not all the employers were embarking on.
Mr Gyakari was speaking at the 13th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the GMWU) of TUC Ghana in Obuasi.
The event was on the theme: ‘Building Trade Union Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World of Work: Strategies for 2024 and Beyond.’
He said this type of employment did not train or resource the youth to take up positions in the future.
The Chairman said all the mining companies in Ghana had two or more people trained from Obuasi Mine, saying if these people had worked as fixed-term workers, they would not be in the position to share their experiences.
‘Now it is becoming an
albatross to employ our ladies because of this fixed term contract because the contract is a maximum of two years,’ he added.
He said the challenge with the fixed-term form of employment was that there was a serious power imbalance to the extent that workers were left with little or no power to compete as a result they became vulnerable to the exploitative interest of the employer.
The Chairman called on the government, the Mineral Commission, and all stakeholders to critically look at and assess this crucial employment model.
He said after all, the government had little to do in the mining communities because miners built most of these infrastructures.
Dr Yaw Baah, the Secretary General of TUC, Ghana said the now stood at the edge of a cliff and any miscalculated move will send the whole country down the cliff.
He said the economy would collapse and Union activities would be seriously affected if not halted completely.
Dr Baah cited Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe as examples of collapsed economies.
‘We at the
TUC think we are where we are because the 1992 Constitution gives too much power to the President,’ he said.
He said there should be a change to the concept of the President is the State and the State is the President situation by changing the Constitution to give power back to the people of Ghana
He said the TUC had launched a Workers’ Manifesto Scheme, which outlined their position/views on various issues, including the need to change the Constitution.
He said either many of their members in the mines lost their jobs or had their permanent contracts changed to fixed-term contracts thereby affecting the quality and security of their jobs and the security of their incomes.
He said despite all the challenges, the GMWU stood its ground and defended the rights and interests of its members and the Union remained one of the strongest Unions in the TUC Family.
He said they were at the current position through much sacrifice and dedicated devotion to the course of the struggles of the Trade Union Movement.
He
said they had fought, disagreed, and touched on nerves in the interest of our cherished Union and members and as a Union, they had remained solid, stronger, and united around the principles they stood for.
Source: Ghana News Agency