Give Employees Fair Deal or Face Our Wrath -ICU

The General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Napoleon Kpoh on Thursday warned employers, who have taken undue advantage of the current high unemployment rate in the country to make employees casuals should brace themselves up for a "tough war."

He said most employers resorted to this act deliberately to prevent their employees from being unionised, thus depriving them of a stress-free retirement in their old age since they were also not paid social security entitlements.

Mr Kpoh explained that this infringed on workers' rights and freewill as set out under the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention. It also deprived the nation of income taxes the employees would have paid.

The General Secretary was speaking when he swore in a five-member Executive Council of the Upper East Region branch of the Union at Bolgatanga.

The Council, which has a four-year term, is under the chairmanship of Mr Paul Ayelazono.

Mr Kpoh noted that some employers go to the extent of warning their casuals not to join any association, which, he said, was an affront to the constitutional provision on the freedom of association.

He said the Union would soon pass a new Constitution to deal severely with employers, who violated labour laws in the country and also to stem the casual menace plaguing the labour force.

For example, he said nearly 1,000 casual workers, who had worked for over five years in Tema had been identified and preparatory work was in progress to institute legal action against their employers.

He explained that with such occurrences, workers were denied their social security and other benefits, which eventually affected them in their old age.

He urged government to engage employers in a fruitful dialogue so as to eliminate this practice of abusing the rights of the labour force and to instil a sense of discipline and dignity into the labour front.