Accra, Dec. 21, GNA – The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) Ghana has urged the government to take quick and needful measures to reverse the economic conundrum currently plaguing the country and bring the requisite economic relief to the people.
Mr Morgan Ayawine, the General Secretary, commended the government for taking steps to bailout certain distressed State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), especially, the National Investment Bank upon appeal by the Union.
It is to empower them to play their traditional roles in the economic scheme of Ghana to help grow and develop the national economy.
The General-Secretary in his Christmas message said the year 2023 had been fraught with dire economic vagaries ranging from hyperinflation to high lending rate engendering economic downturn in the country.
He said it adversely affected the real income of workers and drastically reduced workers’ purchasing power and this situation had left both workers and the citizenry in a social and economic quagmire.
“Admittedly, the economic downtown and its negative ramifications on businesses has caused attrition in sustainable employment and hampered new job creation thus exacerbating the already precarious unemployment situation and increasing the dependency rate and poverty levels in the country,” he added.
He expressed appreciation to the social partners for their unreserved gratitude to the good Employers for their understanding and effective collaboration with the union for sustainable employment which brought about increased productivity and business profitability for economic progress.
He cautioned other employers, who were bent on pushing their agenda of outsourcing and casualization of jobs to destroy sustainable employment and amass abnormal profits thus jeopardizing the future financial security of workers to mend their ways and conform to the labour laws.
He urged gallant workers who were the pivot of the growth and development of the national economy, to press on and work harder in their efforts despite the current vicissitudes of the economy until “we win the war over factors militating against full recovery of businesses and economic prosperity of the Ghanaian workforce.”
GNA