Bolgatanga, June 30, GNA - Workers of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the Upper East Region have appealed to the government and service providers to be consistent in service delivery and utility billing. The workers said at a meeting in Bolgatanga that the increase in utility tariffs was harsh and that the increase did not take into consideration the already unbearable conditions faced by the Ghanaian worker.

They said the government should with immediate effect review the tariffs downwards as workers of the region were solidly behind the TUC leadership in the fight against the increase. "We workers of the region are battle ready if the need arises to go on the streets to demonstrate against the "killer" tariffs." The workers said they were not against Volta River Authority (VRA), Electricity Company and the Ghana Water Company but were worried about the inconsistency in their bills.

They said utilities such as water, electricity, among others were basic human needs and make life comfortable to man but the way service providers of these utilities regulate their usage was unfair to the consumer. Mr. Edward Kareweh Deputy General Secretary of the General Agricultural Workers Union, said workers were ready to pay their utility bills but service providers should be able to provide quality and adequate service to consumers. Mr. Kareweh appealed to the government to intervene to have the charges reduced. He said the problem with the service providers was that they lacked proper management and investment initiatives and added that it was through lack of such initiatives that the innocent worker suffered.