Workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will not be retrenched if the state power distributor is privatised under the Millennium Challenge Compact II programme of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) until after five years, Pamela Djamson-Tetteh, Director of Communications and Outreach at MiDA, has said.
Workers of ECG have expressed fears the concession arrangement will lead to, among other things, redundancy, hence, their disapproval of the move to privatise ECG.
In kicking against the concession arrangement, the General Secretary of the Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU), Michael Adumatta Nyantakyi, recently explained: “…We do hereby reiterate that this policy decision is not the best option for Ghana and the position of the staff of ECG under the Public Utility Workers Union has been clearly articulated in our position paper issued in the early part of 2015. This policy is not the best option to bring reforms to make ECG more efficient and profitable. We have already articulated our views and suggestion in our position paper to MiDA and the Ministry of Power. Unfortunately, the government of Ghana, with tacit pressure from the MCC of the United States of America, is still pushing this agenda despite all the negative implications for our country and its citizens.”
But speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5 FM on Thursday September 15, Ms Djamson-Tetteh said: “All of us are concerned about job security. We are all workers and all of us want to feel secure in our jobs. So we also at MiDA have put in measures to ensure that as we and all Ghanaians are concerned about their jobs, the workers of ECG should be secure in their jobs.”
She added: “As we speak there is no provision at ECG where workers cannot be retrenched. Workers can be laid off at any time at ECG as of today but we are saying that under the concessionaire regime, when the PSP takes off, we are insisting that there is a provision that the concessionaire is not allowed to retrench ECG workers for five years.
“So it’s an improvement on the current situation. So, for five years the concessionaire is not allowed to retrench any worker at ECG and we have given ECG workers this assurance. Even after five years, there are labour laws that we have in Ghana that are effective which currently all organisations are bound by.”
