LGWU WANTS WORKERS ASSOCIATIONS CHECKED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, December 23, 2013

The Local Government Workers Union (LGWU) has resolved to work patiently with the relevant institutions to conduct the labour survey as announced by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the 2014 budget to determine the right category of Ghanaian workers entitled to the market premium.

They therefore appealed to National Labour Commission, the Chief Labour Officer, to call to order, workers associations “which have changed their names as a ploy to lure members of the LGWU, to desist from that practice.”

A Christmas and New Year Message issued in Accra and signed by Godfred Nyarko Okyere, Deputy General Secretary of LGWU said “this is because that practices, if not checked, has the potential to create confrontation among labour organizations.”

According to, LGWU it had cause to bring to the attention of the relevant agencies certain action of Civil Servants Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG)   that created the impression that “it was the labour group mandated to organize employees of MMDAs and some departments.”

“The situation got to a stage where members of the LGWU were being forced to join strikes by CLOGSAG in the latter’s agitation to be paid the market premium.”

The LGWU commended the workers of the MMDAs for remaining resolute and focused in the wake of labour agitations in 2013, by some workers associations “including CLOGSAG which have tried to lure the union members to go on strikes to demand market premium.”

The union appealed to the government through the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, the Local Government Service Governing Council, the Civil Service Council, “to prevail on CLOGSAG to stay within its jurisdiction and organize workers who fall under the civil servant categorization.”

“The LGWU takes strong exception to the attempt by CLOGSAG to organize workers at the MMDAs as the association is fully aware that such category of workers come under the Local Government Service and therefore belong to the union. The LGWU says as a law abiding labour organization, it does not see itself going to organize employees of Ministries who are civil servants because it appreciates the fact that, that category of workers come under CLOGSAG.”

“The action by CLOGSAG has largely contributed to LGWU members having to suffer double deduction by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, which the leadership of the union has been working frantically to resolve. The union assures members that it has had fruitful deliberation with officials of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to tackle that problem once and for all hopefully in 2014.”

The LGWU also promised to ensure that its members at the MMDAs tasked with mobilizing revenue, take the necessary measures in 2014 to achieve the projected revenue target towards the execution of development projects and programmes.

“The leadership of the LGWU wishes to commend the patience and dedication to duty of Ghanaian workers, especially employees of the Metropolitan, Municipal, District Assemblies, MMDA’s for playing their respective roles in the national development agenda in 2013.”

In the view of the LGWU, the areas of revenue mobilization and improving sanitation are critical for the assemblies to continue to make qualitative impact on the lives of the people at the grass root level, adding “the LGWU notes that since the workers of MMDA’s are at the grass root level, any lapses on their part in discharging their duties can have dire consequences for development at the local level.”