Workers on Akatsi-Aflao Highway down tools

Ho, July 21, GNA-Workers of the China-Geo Engineering Corporation working on the Akatsi-Aflao Highway have since Monday stopped work in protest against poor pay and the heavy-handed management style of their employers.

Mr Elvis Van-Lare, Volta Regional Secretary of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday, said besides the poor pay, workers were complaining about the refusal of their employers to unionize.

He said he had had to make several trips lately to mediate between officials and workers of China-Geo. Mr Van-Lare said the impression he got while on the trips was that workers of the company were at the mercy of the whims of their employers because they (workers) did not belong to any union. He said besides poor pay, workers' social security deduction were no= t being paid. Mr Van-Lare said the workers also worked without safety devices. He said pressure was being mounted on Labour by traditional leaders in the area to get the workers back to work in view of the President's impending visit to the area but the workers would not budge.