Business News of Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Source: EOP

MDU, GPHA staff union on a halt of all red affair plan following meeting with president

Some members of the Maritime and Dockworkers Some members of the Maritime and Dockworkers

The Staff Union groups of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority have announced their seizure of wearing red following a meeting with the President of Ghana, Nana Addo-Danquah Akufo Addo who has assured to address concerns they had raised on the GPHA-MPS port expansion concession agreement.

“By the demeanor of the President and the interaction we had with the president, I am 100% convinced that within the next six weeks there is going to be solution to all these problems,” a GPHA union executive expressed.

Members of the Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union of Ghana, of which GPHA Union is a part of, has for about 3 weeks now been wearing red as a symbol of their displeasure towards the GPHA-MPS concession agreement which according to them have serious ramifications including massive loss of jobs and revenue to GPHA and Ghana as a whole if its allowed to remain that way.

According to the GPHA staff Union, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, said he is committed to ensure that the contract is examined to produce a fair, and favorable outcome for Ghana, during their meeting with him at the Jubilee House in Accra.

“The President has indicated to us that he has been interested and has followed whatever has been going on ever since the union brought its concerns on the concession. The president has consequently made a commitment to us that he is going to look at the issues that the unionized groups have raised and eventually, we are all expecting the concession agreement to be reviewed.”

Abdul-Rahman Baidoo, Chairman of the Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union said, the executives found it necessary to assemble members of the union, to update them on the outcome of their meeting with the President of the Republic.

He disclosed that the Union is however monitoring closely developments of the review process and has set a time limit of 6-8 weeks to allow Government deliver on its assurance to review and salvage the situation.

“It was just appropriate that after meeting with the President of the Republic of Ghana, we have a responsibility to get back to staff and update them, as to what actually happened at the meeting with the President. We have to review our struggle and that is why we have decided- that we want to stop wearing the red. Meanwhile, we will allow the red flag to fly on the buildings and on the vehicles, while we monitor and see what happens. We are looking at a timeline of about six to eight weeks. It is our expectation that, we are going to hear something positive from the President,” he disclosed.