By Francis Ameyibor
Tema, July 3, GNA – The Sunon Asogli Staff Association (SASA) has announced that they will boycott the intended nationwide strike called by the Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC) on July 10, in solidarity with three dismissed colleagues.
“We will not participate in the TUC strike; it is not in the general interest of Ghanaian workers in general, and Sunon Asogli Power Plant Ghana Limited workers in particular.
“We believe in dialogue to resolve any dispute relating to the three dismissed colleagues.
“The posture of TUC and Ghana Mine Workers Union is rather aggravating procedures to settle the dispute amicably. How can you be pointing a gun at the head of management yet you are appealing to them to reinstate our dismissed colleagues?” Mr. Benard Ababio, SASA General Secretary, stated this in an interview in Tema.
He added: “The Sunon Asogli Staff Association, with over 70 percent of staff as members, sympathises with our friends and colleagues for the mishap, but we believe that the antagonistic posture by the TUC and Ghana Mine Workers Union is rather destroying the cordial relations that existed between the three workers and management.”
Mr. Ababio reiterated the call for calm among the rank and file to ensure that work progressed while stakeholders made efforts to address the protracted disputes.
Mr. Albert Kofi Nutakor, SASA Chairman, expressed concern that while the dispute between management and TUC was still in court, TUC and its collaborators were planning to embark on a nationwide strike.
Mr. Nutakor said Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited Company, as the largest Chinese investment in Ghana and the first Independent Power Producer in the country, had ensured that in all its engagements and operations, the company respected the laws of Ghana.
“This is why, after over 15 years of existence, stories relating to the company have been progressive. The management and staff have worked together through mutual respect for each other’s cultures.
“As a multinational, the staff and management have worked in the best interest of all parties, working and operating in a serene and lawful environment—an environment that has ensured the protection of investment and, above all, provided the hard-working staff of the power plant with the best of safety and security,” Mr. Nutakor stated.
The SASA Chairman noted that until the invasion of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, workers and management have worked together based on friendship and the maintenance of a working and living environment that allows for win-win outcomes.
“We all sympathize and share the concern of our colleagues who were dismissed, but we cannot use an antagonistic approach to get management to reinstate them.”
Mr. Nutakor noted, “Sunon Asogli staff are not at war with management or any other body.
“Workers are not fighting against each other; we are working for the best interest of all; our services are essential within the national power distribution network; and we will continue to ensure that we address this bottleneck, foster understanding and dialogue, and collaborate to address every operational, welfare, and industrial dispute”.
The SASA Chairman noted that while recognising and respecting the rights of employees to organize and advocate their interests, “we believe it is crucial to strike a balance that does not compromise the cordial work environment we have cultivated at Simon Asogli Power Ghana Limited over the years”.
Mr Nutakor said SASA will at all times dialogue for the best interests of workers, management, and the nation and will not participate in any industrial action that will jeopardize the interests of Ghana, management, and workers.
GNA