The leadership of ICU-Ghana expressed concern on the inability of management of Trades Union to consult ICU who are co-owners of the building, but instead wrote to them to vacate their offices in the hall of Trade Unions for renovation work.

Mr Solomon Kortey, ICU-Ghana General Secretary, stated at a press briefing in Accra that the ICU was prepared to share the cost of renovation equally if they were consulted as co-owners of the building.

"Trades Union Congress, Ghana shared the cost of the so-called renovation of the hall of Trades Unions to all the National Unions occupying the hall, without giving any to ICU-Ghana as part-owner of the hall", he added.

Mr Kortey was of the view that the actions of the leadership of Trades Unions was an attempt to ostracise ICU-Ghana from the Trades Union fraternity at the hall of Trade Unions and also deprive them of their right of part-ownership of the building.

"Having discerned the ulterior motive of the TUC-Ghana, the ICU-Ghana has become more than ever determined, not to move an inch from the hall of Trades Unions to allow TUC-Ghana to execute its anti-worker plan against the largest segment of Ghanaian workers who are members of the union", he added.

According to the ICU-Ghana General Secretary, many big office edifices in Accra and elsewhere, had renovated its offices without the occupants necessarily vacating the building, rather the occupants continue to stay in and do their work while the renovation goes on.

He said examples of such office buildings are the headquarters of the Ghana Water Company, Ghana, COCOBOD and currently the two buildings of the Ghana National Association of Teachers where renovation was on-going.

Mr Kortey said the supposed renovation at their offices was not necessary because ICU-Ghana renovated its offices within the hall of the Trade Unions just about five years and the place was good.

He called on its members to remain calm, stressing that the union would protect and sustain the building from any attack and instructed TUC-Ghana to instruct its contractors to give ICU members and social partners peaceful and unimpeded access to its offices while renovation is on-going.

He assured all and sundry of their commitment as a law-abiding national union to remain focused on its core mandate of articulating the aspirations of Ghanaian workers, but would not allow any irresponsible persons to deny what was legitimately theirs.

The building was bequeathed to the National Unions and ICU by the late Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of the country in the early 1960s in appreciation of workers contribution towards the fight for independence.