The Union has indicated that their action will begin with hoisting and wearing of red bands by all workers, followed by series of activities including what it calls a “sympathy one day sit-down strike”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”C0TbsUpLxCl1gPgtiXOugGsmmPV35uRH”]Speaking to Citi News about their planned action,  the General Secretary of the Union, Prince William Ankrah, said: “20^th will be a sympathy strike where we will ask all the mining companies and employees to join, then if nothing happens,  27^th will be the main action.We hope that in the process, there will be some solutions.”

Goldfields had explained that the move forms part of measures to change its business model, and make the company profitable due to the relatively short lifespan of the mine.

The workers are however opposed to the move, describing the reasons being given by the company as disingenuous.

Petition against layoffs

The workers had earlier petitioned Parliament over Goldfields’ intended layoff.

According to the Union, the move by the company amounted to unfair labour practice.

The General Secretary of the Union, Prince William Ankrah who presented the petition had indicated that the basis for the company’s actions is unfounded and could result in the loss of revenue for many of the workers.

“Goldfields intends having its own way. We are a law-abiding union, we’ve had stability in our industry for many years. We deem it expedient to make sure that we present the petition to the honourable House so they understand the dynamics and seeing how best to address the issue…We are demanding that Goldfields cannot do what they intend doing by subjecting our members to a mining contract. Members will lose revenue streams,” he said.

The Union later dragged Goldfields to court.

In the writ, the workers prayed the court to restrain Goldfields from going ahead with the intended redundancy exercise until all the stakeholders involved.

They also wanted the court to say that the redundancy exercise was “unlawful.”

But the court in its ruling on March 2, 2018 dismissed the injunction application.

The court presided over by Justice Laurenda Owusu, said the mining company risks losing more if the court halts the ongoing layoffs before a determination of the substantive matter on whether they acted within law.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Mine workers Union to strike over planned Goldfields layoffs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the court presided over by Justice Laurenda Owusu, the mining company risks losing more if the court halts the ongoing layoffs before a determination of the substantive matter on whether they acted within law.

The suit before the court was initiated on behalf of the workers by the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union (GMWU).

In the writ, the workers are praying the court to restrain Goldfields from going ahead with the intended redundancy exercise until all the stakeholders involved.

They are also seeking a declaration from the court that the redundancy exercise is “unlawful” because the reasons given by the mining giant to lay them off do not meet the “requirements, conditions or grounds for redundancy, as provided by Section 65 of the Labour Act, 2013, Act 651”.

The workers further want the court to declare that the purported authorisation of the redundancy exercise by the Chief Labour Officer is “illegal, unlawful and null and void”.

Goldfields Ghana Limited in December 2017 announced that it will have to lay off some 1,500 workers at its Tarkwa mine.

The move also followed plans by Goldfields to shift from owner mining to contract mining.

The mining firm argued that the latter is more cost efficient compared to the former practice.

The court is however expected to hear the case on whether Goldfields is justified in the decision to lay off staff for resorting to contract mining, subsequently.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku & Fred Tettey Djagbanor/ citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Court dismisses injunction case against layoffs at Goldfields appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Union, the move by the company amounted to unfair labour practice.

[contextly_sidebar id=”0SuembILJIpcOVz0QpOcdeK9VGddRAbf”]The General Secretary of the Union, Prince William Ankrah who presented the petition, indicated that the basis for the company’s actions is unfounded and could result in the loss of revenue for many of the workers.

“Goldfields intends having its own way. We are a law-abiding union, we’ve had stability in our industry for many years. We deem it expedient to make sure that we present the petition to the honourable House so they understand the dynamics and seeing how best to address the issue…We are demanding that Goldfields cannot do what they intend doing by subjecting our members to a mining contract. Members will lose revenue streams,” he said.

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who received the petition on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament, said the members of Parliament will study the petition and take the necessary action to ensure that the issue is amicably resolved.

Goldfields Ghana Limited told Citi Business News earlier this week that it will lay off about 1,500 workers this month, as part of measures to change its business model, and make the company profitable due to the relatively short lifespan of the mine.

Reacting to the development, the Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, Abdul Moomin Gbana, said the reasons given by Goldfields were inconsistent with the facts on the ground.

“Goldfields claims the life of the mine is 5 to 6 years, and based on the limited time, they cannot invest in mining fleet… It can actually run for a number of years and you don’t necessarily need to replace the fleets that Goldfields claims it wants to do. Records available to us indicate that, contrary to their claim of the life of the mine of 5-6 years, [it is over 15 years] and so the question is, if your choice of contract mining is based on a limited life of mine and your own website projects 15 years, then, the question is, who are you misleading,” he said.

This will be the second time in three years the mining firm has embarked on a massive retrenchment exercise after a 2014 exercise that saw some 400 of its workforce laid off.

Sacked workers to be reemployed

Meanwhile, the Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs of the company, David Johnson, has said that majority of the workers that will be laid off will be reemployed by the contractor who will take over mining activities of the mine.

“It’s important to add however that, we have done a similar exercise a year ago where over eighty percent of the retrenched workers were actually absorbed by the contractor, so it’s not the case that you leave your employees and that is the end of the story. We actually engaged the contractors to ensure that as many people as possible, are re-engaged by the contractors,” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Mineworkers Union petitions Parliament over planned Goldfields layoffs appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.