Mr. Eric Opoku,Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, has called on workers in the region to exhibit acceptable moral standards and adopt best practices in their line of duty.
He urged workers also to be guided by the precept of honesty and mutual respect amongst them “and our standards of behaviour must be above reproach”.
Mr. Opoku was addressing a well-attended regional celebration of May Day at Nsawkaw, capital of Tain District.
The theme for the celebration was “Decent work for sustainable economic development”.
Mr. Opoku advised workers to be imbued with virtues of patience, comportment, as well as dialogue in resolving labour related grievances
without resorting to violent attacks, demonstrations, sit down strikes and withdrawal of services.
He said this would ensure industrial peace and harmony that would serve as a catalyst for economic growth.
Mr. Opoku said the government would leave no stone unturned in its quest to better the lot of Ghanaians, especially the working class.
He said labour should be assured that the government would work to ensure the achievement of these objectives for the benefit of one and all.
Mr. Opoku stressed it was the hope of the government that by the end of 2011, every worker under the ambit of the Public Sector would be enjoying better incomes and conditions under the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) scheme.
He said the government was not oblivious of labour’s outcry against the Single Spine Salary Structure and the assertion that the quantum of pay in the public sector was still low and needed some review for real benefits to be felt.
Mr Opoku appealed to all stakeholders, “particularly our loving teachers”, to use the laid-down mechanisms in resolving industrial disputes other than resorting to the use of strikes to address issues to ensure the successful implementation of the SS Pay Policy.
“Government assures and re-assures Labour of a true, honest, open, and above board approach to all manner of negotiations and that we will not give our word at the negotiation table only to renege on our side of the bargain”, Mr. Opoku stated.
He said the government in turn expected Labour to give off their best at their work places and stations, stressing that as much as it was workers’right to seek better incomes and conditions of service, they also had a responsibility to work tirelessly to increase productivity levels at their workplaces.
The District Chief Executive for Tain, Mr. Jones Samuel Tawiah, said the labour front in the district was calm from 2004 when the district was created out of Wenchi till 2008 when the sod was cut for the construction of the Bui Hydro Electric project.
He said the influx of many workers with complex qualifications and different experiences in labour and trade union issues saw the advent of an agitated labour front.
The DCE appealed to the regional Trades Union Congress to consider strengthening the District Council of Labour in Tain “through training, frequent visits and coaching to upgrade workers’ skills in Trade Unionism so they can ably handle the numerous challenges emerging from the labour front in the District”.