Government functionaries cannot be showing opulence in the face of economic difficulties – Federation of Labour

Mr Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has called on the government to ensure that its lifestyle reflects the economy’s current state, hence the need to reduce expenditure and collectively find amicable solutions for the current situation.

“Government functionaries cannot be showing opulence and you turn around to ask the ordinary person to have a haircut, this is not acceptable,” he said.

He said the government debt exchange programme would push people in the middle and lower class into absolute poverty which would have a huge impact on the development of the country.

Mr Koomson said the programme would also render most of the banks vulnerable which would in the long term affect the living standard of the citizenry.

“Some banks and financial institutions including insurance companies would collapse in the next five years, as confidence in the financial sector continues to wean,” Mr Koomson, GFL General Secretary stated at Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) at Tema.

He said, “most people are yet to overcome the impact of the banking sector clean-up, and now we are encountering a major financial earthquake, let us be careful not to totally destroy the financial base of the country”.

Mr Koomson expressed concern that the relationship between the government and organized labour has become a fragile one with no trust, “2023 is going to be a year of intensified agitations to save the country”.

The GFL General Secretary also advised the military against any adventurous intervention which would destabilise.

He said organized labour would use internationally recognise labour procedures to get redress and redeem the economy.

He also called on the various labour unions to remain resolute and work together to defend employees’ interests and create an enabling condition for workers to enjoy the fruit of their labour.

He reminded labour unions that the Labour Act 2003 fortifies workers against any acts of omission or commissions that may be at the detriment of the worker, “the act forbids any action or policy that would make the employee worse off, let us hold on to the laws and defend our workers’ interest at all times”.

Mr Koomson reiterated the call for the government to reduce its expenditure drastically to set the tone of reviving the current economic recession in the country.

He, however, cautioned the government not to take any unilateral measures that would impact negatively on the ordinary public and civil servants, and other workers who are already poorly paid and suffering under this current self-imposed hardship.

-CDA Consult II Contributor