An Economist, Godfred Bokpin has praised organised labour’s decision to embark on a national protest, describing it as “good for Ghana”.
Organised Labour declared its decision to embark on a one-day protest on Thursday, 24 July, 2014 and asked “all workers in the formal and informal sector to stay away from work and converge at designated locations in Accra and other regional capitals to demonstrate.”
The Federation of Labour has however expressed disinterest in the intended protest.
The General Secretary of the Federation, Abraham Koomson believes the TUC’s action is politically motivated.
He described TUC’s decision as “populist and politically motivated”.
But speaking on Citi FM’s News Analysis Programme, The Big Issues, Mr. Bokpin commended the TUC for its decision saying: “consistently TUC has shown that there are key stakeholders in the economy. They follow key development in the economy and they have made inputs into our economic development process”
He said the decision has become necessary considering the fact that government had “gone to bed”.
“We have come to accept excuses and I don’t think it’s good enough….it’s about time we let government know that there is a limit you can go,” Mr. Bokpin said.
He noted that the monitoring and evaluation in the public sector is gradually reducing as a result of government’s lack of concern.
The Executive Director of IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe on the other hand asked the TUC to show a certain level of “responsibility.”
In his opinion, the TUC should rather carry out a retrenchment plan to prune out its unproductive employees than depending on government to resolve the current economic challenges.
“In as much as I agree with them that the government has done a lot of damage to the economy, let us also put a part of the blame on the TUC.
“They are too many, they are running around doing nothing…If the TUC doesn’t have the tools, they should stay home,” said Franklin Cudjoe
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah