Boakye Agyarko chides PUWU for bypassing gov’t

The Ministry of Energy says it will partner with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, to resolve the concerns Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) workers have regarding the privatization of the company.

According to the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, the government is willing to engage workers of ECG and their workers Union, the Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) to iron out their issues.

He however chided PUWU for bypassing the government and resorting to the media to voice their concerns.

“If there is an explanation you don’t understand, you come back to the table. You don’t go to the press. If you are sitting in a classroom and the teacher is teaching something you don’t understand, you ask the teacher for further and better particulars.”

PUWU’s latest demand from the government is proof that ECG workers will be retained by the concessionaires who will take over in September 2018.

This followed a sit-down strike by ECG staffs, who are requesting severance package for workers who could be laid off after the company is privatized.

This was the latest agitation as a result of fears workers will lose their jobs following the Power Compact signed with the United States of America’s Compact II programme.

Speaking to the media, Boakye Agyarko said the government would deal with retention issues of the workers, but insists the approach of PUWU to get the issues resolved so far is wrong.

“Whatever entitlements and benefits they have accrued as workers under ECG shall not be tampered with, because they have moved to a new company. That was the guarantee we sought to give them. Nothing more, nothing less,” he stated.

The Employment Ministry’s role in all this will be to handle the worker dispute issues as the Energy Ministry’s purview is energy, Mr. Agyarko noted.

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