General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), Morgan Ayawine has said it is heart breaking that since the advent of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic some two years ago, a lot of businesses that cut down on their operations to half their capacity, and others that completely shutdown, have still not fully recovered.
Similarly, he said a lot of workers lost their jobs thus their means of livelihood, and other workers too, who had the privilege of being retained on their jobs, had their wages/salaries slashed by half.
In his May Day message to all Ghanaians, he said “It is instructive to note that, the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic is still having a very serious ripple effect on the ability of businesses that were affected by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to bounce back to business, and on the ability of workers who lost their jobs to make ends meet.
“That apart, it is having a negative effect on the country’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP), thus destabilizing the national economy.”
He added “I am glad to say that today, by that sacrifice made by our comrades-in-labour long ago that assured workers of our freedom and liberty, we can say with a loud and clear voice that, that cruel era of undignified labour is gone, and gone for good, and that never again shall the blatant exploitation of workers for the parochial interest and benefit of callous business owners be allowed to hold sway ever again, in the current dispensation of our hard-fought and hard-won industrial democracy that has put capital and labour on an even pedestal, as capital and labour have become partners for sustainability, productivity and profitability of business for our mutual benefit because, unlike the days of old, workers now have trade union organizations like ICU-Ghana, among others to fight for their right and dignity.
“Comrades, the exigencies of the current business environment as imposed by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has thrusted upon both workers and employers the need for mutual sacrifices, so as to sustain businesses and to retain our jobs.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana