Ghana: ECG Staff Ordered To Call Off Strike

The Labour Commission, the agency responsible for mediating between workers and their employers in the Republic of Ghana, has directed staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to call off their sit down industrial strike.

The Commission expects the aggrieved workers to return to post and ensure that their concerns are properly placed before the Commission for redress.

The workers, on Monday, embarked on a sit down strike to demand the removal of their Managing Director, Kwame Agyeman-Budu.

According to sources, the strike, which started about 8am, Monday, lasted for about two hours.
Sources say some of the workers wore red attire while others wore red arm bands.

The workers, led by its umbrella body, Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU), have been accusing the MD of exhibiting “incompetence”, a claim a section of the workers have refuted.

In a statement issued by PUWU recently, they accused the MD of engaging in ‘one man show’, breaching procurement processes, awarding of contracts and outsourcing of Special Load Tariff (SLT) collection.

They also accused the MD of failing to pay workers’ deductions into PUWU Mutual Funds, Credit Unions, Life Insurance Schemes etc. which is estimated at over Seventy Million Ghana Cedis (Gh¢70,000,000.00) as at March 2021.

Energynewsafrica.com has made several attempts to speak to the leadership of PUWU over the claims but they have refused to answer telephone calls and text messages.

Meanwhile, checks by energynewsafrica.com indicate that claims by PUWU that the MD has constructed staff canteen at Asokwa District, Roman Ridge and construction of new District office at Cape Coast where there are enough unused office spaces was upon request made by the staff which was then discussed and approved by the board.

Under the current MD, ECG has also paid about GHS200, 000,000 of workers’ deductions into various funds.

On the issue of outsourcing of Special Load Tariff collection, energynewsafrica.com’s checks indicated that a certain company brought a proposal to management and proposed that they would be able to help ECG to collect monies owed them by their bulk customers by negotiating with them to make payment to cover a whole month, instead of the monthly collections being done by staff of the ECG.

According to sources, Management of ECG has not taken a decision yet as the proposal is currently before the Board.

It is unclear what the motive of PUWU is. However, some staff of ECG are of the view that PUWU is pushing an agenda to get the MD out so that their favourite would be appointed to replace him.

In a report filed by Myjoyonline.com, it quoted a communiqué signed by NLC’s General Secretary Ofosu Asamoah, as saying that ECG workers had not exhausted all means in getting their voices heard.

“The National Union is hereby advised to ensure that the proper processes in resolution of the workers’ grievances are adhered to and call for a halt in the industrial action,” the April 26 letter read.

Source:www.energynewsafrica.com