Striking workers of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) have agreed to return to negotiations with the management of the company, following a successful stakeholder meeting.
According to an inside source, the parties have agreed to return to continue and complete their wage negotiations after the meeting which included senior management, officials of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and leadership of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU).
The leadership of all the key stakeholders signed an undertaking to demonstrate their commitment to the process and lend their support towards ensuring the resumption of full operations at VALCO.
VALCO in recent weeks has dominated the media space following labour agitations by some workers who refused some management members entry into the facility. The situation disrupted operations leading to a planned shutdown of the Aluminium Smelter.
The management of VALCO, later in a press statement, explained that to save the Smelter to allow for a smooth restart, it worked with the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) to take down the power to the operating line.
With calm restored at VALCO, all employees at the facility are expected to be called in to resume work as their leadership continues the wage negotiation process with the declared objective of an amicable settlement.
The leadership of all the key stakeholders included the Chief Executive Officer of VALCO, Mr. Dan Acheampong, Director of HR and Administration, Mr. Festus Quaidoo, General Secretary for Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), Mr. Morgan Ayawine, Chairman of the local union, Mr. Edgar Tetteh and CEO of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Michael Ansah.
