I expect more strikes as the general elections approach – NLC boss
The Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC) Ofosu Asamoah has said he he is looking forward to many strike actions by various workers group as the general elections draws near.
In an interview with GHOne TV, Ofosu Asamoah stated that workers with few days to the elections usually demand what they believe is due them knowing that the government may be compelled in a way to accede to their demands for fear of losing an action.
“Certainly it is getting to elections, especially when the government is in its very last term. We campaign on promises, we campaign on manifestos, we do all that. So, if you don’t press on to get what was promised you at this time, when do you get it again? When the government has left office? Assuming NPP wins, it is under a new leadership, so what did these people promise you? That is why everybody keeps pressing down.
Asked if he expects more strike action, Ofosu Asamoah said: “Certainly, because we are in an election year. We are getting to the end of term of the government, so people will want to press and have what they were promised before they leave office.”
Meawhile, the National Labour Commission (NLC) has directed workers of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to suspend their ongoing strike action.
The GHA workers started indefinite strike action on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, in protest against the implementation of the National Roads Authority Act, 2024 (Act 1118).
The workers argued that the Act, which seeks to merge the GHA with the Department of Urban Roads and the Department of Feeder Roads, would reduce the Authority’s autonomy and increase bureaucratic inefficiency.
The departure of two important officials—Ing. Collins B. Donkor, the Chief Executive Officer of the NRA, and Ing. I.K. Mensah, the Chairman of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) Board—is at the center of the conflict.
The workers argue that these officials have been complicit in decisions that threaten the integrity of the roads sector.
This latest development follows a formal petition to the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in which workers called for broader consultations before proceeding with the implementation of the new Act.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NLC emphasized the need for the GHA workers to suspend their industrial action while negotiations continue.
It said it met both parties in caucus sessions and observed that the respondents (GHA workers) did not follow due process under the Labour Act, 2023 (Act 651) regarding their intended industrial action.
The NLC therefore directed that “The respondents—Ghana Highway Authority, Senior Staff Association, and the Divisional Union of Construction and Building Materials Workers Union of GHA (CBMWU-TUC)—are to follow the due process.”
“Whilst waiting for respondents to follow the due process, they must suspend any and/or all intended industrial action.”