The National Labour Commission has directed the unionised workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to withdraw their intended sit-down strike.
The workers had indicated the strike was to demand for the removal of the Managing Director of the company but the Labour Commission has pointed out that the workers were not resorting to the appropriate procedure.
The intended strike was to start today (Monday, April 26, 2021) and was to last for two hours between 8am and 10am.
However, the commission in a letter dated April 26, 2021 which was copied to the Managing Director of the ECG called on the chairmen of the senior staff union and the junior staff union of the company to relook at the channels they were using to address their grievances.
“The commission in exercise of its power under section 139, directs the workers to reverse the decision and channel their grievances to the Commission through the National Union to be properly placed before the Commission for redress” said the letter signed by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr Ofosu Asamoah.
It advised the national union to call for halt of the industrial action by the workers while it ensured the proper process was followed in the resolution of the workers’ grievances.
Workers’ concern
Ahead of the letter from the Labour Commission, some workers of the ECG who described themselves as concerned workers of ECG kicked against the intended strike action.
The concerned workers claim the decision to embark on the industrial action was being pushed by some individuals for their selfish interest.
“We know of their plans to instigate workers to disrupt power supply. Currently, all our members are at post. We encourage all members to ignore the call to strike,” said the concerned workers.
According to the concerned workers “just last week, our pay was increased by 10 per cent pending the final negotiations. Others whose promotions had been delayed for several years have been promoted recently by the management after just 14 months of our MD being in office.”
The concerned workers questioned why the union had called for a sit-down strike without notifying the management of the company and the National Labour Commission (NLC) in accordance with section 159 of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651).
The Act, they pointed out, required the union to give the labour commission at least seven days notice before any strike
