He said there was the need for the two companies to adopt innovative ways to improve their services and satisfy the needs of customers.

Mr Awuah made the call at the 13 quadrennial delegates’ conferences of the Public Util­ities Workers Union (PUWU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), held on the theme: “Building a resilient union through aggressive organising and active grassroots participa­tion” in Accra on Friday.

The union used the oppor­tunity to inaugurate the PUWU Conference and Hospitality Centre in Kasoa.

Mr Awuah said ECG and GWCL were sensitive to the Ghanaian economy that needed dedicated, honest and hard-working workers to man­age them.

This, he said, was because the economy would come to a standstill if there were no power and water to run factories.

“Water is life and without water, we can hardly live. So certainly these companies play a very important role in the economy. And it behooves these workers to employ innovative ways to provide the best ser­vices.

These innovative ways would help the company to reduce production cost and losses, satisfy the customers and as well increase revenue to the govern­ment.” Mr Awuah said.

He urged the union to remain committed to trade unionism, to enable it to become attractive and make Ghana a better place for all.

The minister expressed the hope that discussions at the conference would reflect the concerns of the delegates, to meet their objective and help them become more productive in their field of work.

The Secretary General of the TUC, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, said, the TUC would in the next two weeks, hold its congress to elect new leadership to run the affairs of the Union.

He thanked PUWU for their contributions and dedication to building strong unionism in the country, and urged them to con­tinue building a strong union through their collaborations.

Dr Baah explained that such collaboration, would help them in addressing the challenges and concerns of their members, as well as increasing their produc­tivity to satisfy the demands of the public.

The General Secretary of PUWU, Mr Michael Adumatta Nyantakyi, said the promotion of members had become a key issue of the union, and appealed to management of the various utility services to do the need­ful.

He said although several petitions to the management of the various utility services had led to salary increment, negotiations were still ongoing regarding Conditions of Service Allowance.

Mr Nyantakyi said the union would also take action against workers who were constantly absent from work without using the due process.