The Deputy Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Kenneth Koomson, has criticized the Tripartite Committee for failing to consider the plight of industries before coming up with its 10-point communiqué.
The Tripartite Committee comprising government, Labour Unions and employers signed a 10-point communiqué on Tuesday, April 28 2020, on the need to protect businesses and employees in the wake of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Mr. Koomson noted that the communiqué failed to spell out the exact stimulus packages businesses and employees require.
“We think it is a misplaced priority. We think that what should have been the decision was for a clear message that would have said stimulus packages have been released for A,B,C,D companies. That would have assured the workers that government has now given that intervention, then they can be recalled from home. Or those who were contemplating to go home would have also understood that the government has intervened and for that matter, they could not proceed further on that tangent,” he said.
He further stated that, “the right thing to do now is to give the businesses the stimulus package. This will give them the needed boost, then we can monitor how they use these monies to ensure that the companies survive.”
Concerns raised
On the 27th of March, the employers issued a statement to government requesting the release of stimulus packages to support ailing companies.
This was followed by the Committee’s communique which came hours after the Federation raised concerns about the effect the pandemic could have on businesses and workers in Ghana.
It also made reference to the growing number of cases in the country and the measures put in place to curb the spread of the disease, while considering the possibility of a lockdown of the country.
The group also complained about how some of these measures were not favourable to the country’s working populace.
“While we see these efforts as laudable, though some of them came rather late, the Ghana Federation of Labour has made some critical observation of missing issues in the national discourse which seem to give conflicting signals to the workforce.
“Whereas medical professionals have raised concerns about inadequate and inappropriate apparels for duty, employees in other sectors of the economy are apprehensive about job security as industry shutdown is imminent because of the pandemic,” portions of the statement said.