Trade Unions calls for realistic minimum wage
Ghana open to practical ideas -Kufuor
Association of Private Schools take on WAEC over leakage
Kufuor stresses need to reforms labour laws
Ghanaians urged to respect cultural values
Health Minister launches Africa Malaria Day
Workers urged to fight for economic and social justice
Private schools urged to keep to approved fees
Marriage couples urged to ensure peace in the home
Ho (Volta Region) 02 May 2002 - Mr. Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on Wednesday pledged the Congress' determination to secure realistic minimum wage in the country while pursuing efforts at achieving the development of an incomes policy that guarantees equity. The Secretary General also assured workers of the TUC's determination to secure a fair deal in their efforts to get the End-of-Service Benefits (ESB) restored.
Addressing this year's May Day parade of workers at Ho under the theme: "Decent work and Labour Standards Conditions necessary for national development", he said: "The TUC welcomes the determination of a new national minimum wage -- We call on all employers, particularly those whose workers are not organised to take due account -- in fixing the wages of their workers".
Mr. Amankwah drew the government's attention to excessive new-liberalism and its erosion of job security and implored workers to seek better skills in order to survive the ravages of the labour market.
“There is no clear national policy framework for dealing with low incomes, poor safety and health at work, poor housing, rising cost of utilities, weak social security and protection, transportation, among other basic necessities of the populace.
He noted that there has been no fundamental shift policy frameworks from the past two decades, saying the failure of a combination of policies, "that could be described broadly as SAP" which were pursued in the past and taking on different forms now have proved to be incapable of addressing the problems they were expected to solve.
To this end "the leaders and people of Ghana need to live up to the demand of learning fully from their own experiences in matters of economic and social policy making". He said the country requires a new mix of policies that would achieve macro-economic stability, liberalisation growth, poverty reduction and transform the economy from being a captive one to one reliant on indigenous resource for industrialisation and which would make the best use of international co-operation.
"In other words, macro-economic stability cannot be an end in itself and should be subordinated to a well thought out strategy of transformation and development", Mr. Amankwah said.
He said Ghana requires a clean departure from partnerships, which perpetrate the cycle of poverty to ones, which take account of the realities of inequalities in the economics of the rich and poor countries.
"We also demand the right of our government ...to take policy measures that give special support and protection to indigenous entrepreneurial effort and production be respected," in order to promote local capital and enterprise development for sustainable national development, he said.
Mr. Amankwah called for the expeditious passage of the Freedom of Information Act to ensure uninhibited access to matters of public interest by the media. He called on media workers to consider forming their own unions through which they could work towards securing better working conditions for themselves and be better placed to champion the cause of other workers to decent work and standards.
Mr. Amankwah reiterated the TUC's stand against the partitioning of the Water Sector into Urban and Rural allotments, in which the potentially profitable Urban component would be reserved for Multi National Companies.
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Ho (Volta Region) 02 May 2002 – The government sys it is committed to a pragmatic adaptation of what has worked for other countries to build on to move the country forward.
"Ideas are universal and this government does not claim any monopoly over any theories. We only seek to adopt, adapt, harness and utilise ideas that suit our circumstances. For, we believe it is the utilisation of these ideas that makes the difference between one government and another", President John Agyekum Kufuor said on Wednesday, when he delivered the keynote address at this year's National May Day Parade held at Ho in the Volta Region. The theme for the celebrations was: "Decent work and labour standards necessary condition for National Development".
In reaction to an assertion by Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwaa, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and opponents of the government that "government's economic policies have not changed from those of its predecessors, President Kufuor said there was bound to be a difference between a team that believes in the policies being implemented and a team that by its own admission was forced to adopt policies it did not believe in. "This is where the real difference is between this government and its predecessor".
He said the government had never made macro-economic stability an end in itself, however, its importance could not be downplayed and the government had spent the past year to take difficult decisions and maintained the discipline to ensure macro-economic stability.
"Unlike our predecessors, we are determined to submit to this discipline and to sustain it even when elections are on the horizon, because this stability is the foundation without which everything else would crumble. You cannot build a house without a solid foundation, " he added.
President Kufuor said it was only after this stability that any meaningful development could take place, more investors would be attracted into the country to enable existing businesses to expand, adding, "it is only when new factories are opened and existing ones are expanded that real jobs will be created to give employment to the large numbers of our youth.
Placards displayed at the parade, were made and the messages centrally approved by the Planning Committee of the Day, to depict the situation of Ghanaian workers. Some read: "Our Salaries Can No Longer Pay The Mounting School Fees, Review The Educational System, Ghana Needs A Better Railways, No More VANEF, Bravo SSNIT Board, Stop Casualisation Of Workers, and Restore ESB.
Others were: "Utility Bills Are Killing, Don't Let Our National Airline Bleed To Death, Self-Seekers Leave Ghanair and Oh Workers When? All the 17 Unions, including those not represented in the Volta Region were present.
They included the National Union of Seamen (NUS), Railway Workers Union (RWU) and the Maritime and Dock Workers Union (MDU). Eighteen members were present with awards.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 May 2002 - The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has condemned the leakage of examination questions at the just ended Basic Education Certification Examination (BECE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday and signed by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Acting President of GNAPS said; "the whole nation was disappointed by the utter failure of WAEC to eliminate these perennial leakage of examination papers of junior secondary schools".
The statement said that it was a pity that without any investigation into the alleged leakage, which was carried in some part of the media, WAEC and the Ministry of Education denied the leakage after their earlier assurances that adequate security had been put in place to ensure fairness.
The Association said all Ghanaians were surprised to hear the Ministry of Education and WAEC openly denying the earlier reports about the leakage only to come back to admit that evidence had proved the allegations to be true and had hurriedly instituted investigations to find out the culprits.
The leakage, it said, might be nation-wide with some of the papers being sold at market places to some students in certain parts of the country. A large number of concerned parents and guardians are worried about the fate of their children and wards and what would be done to the entire examinations, it stated.
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Ho (Volta Region) 02 May 2002 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday said the government’s strive to ensure proper atmosphere and structures for smooth productivity in the economy would require modernisation in the laws that governed the work place.
In this direction, a new Labour Bill presented to Parliament should bring Ghana in line with modern thinking and International Treaties on Labour Legislation, President Kufuor said in the keynote address at this year's May Day Celebrations held at Ho in the Volta Region.
The theme for the celebration is: "Decent Work and Labour Standards; Necessary Conditions for National Development." President Kufuor said "Education, training, acquisition of new skills and mutual trust among all stakeholders are what we need to get this nation to where it should be".
The challenge for the country was for labour, employers and the government to work together to attain the goal of a truly prosperous Ghana. "Whether it is the ESB, provision of good water, electricity, good roads good housing, clean environment, good health care delivery and efficient and affordable public transport system, there is a consensus that we all should together strive for them.
"So let us not argue among ourselves as though some people are against these things. Let us rather concentrate our energies on achieving these goals as soon as possible and for all citizens," he said.
He said the government was totally committed to improving the quality of life of the people. "All we ask of the good people of Ghana is to uphold the national Constitution and to perform their economic and civic duties as good citizens. In the year 2004 they will be the best judges as to whether this government has served them well or not" he said.
President Kufuor expressed his disappointment at organised labour for not taking the lead role in trying to shape the debate on meaningful incomes and wages, a suggestion he made during last year's May Day Celebrations.
"For much of the year, all I have heard is how badly paid people are, and not much else. There have not been much said about how to increase productivity, improve work ethics, how to enlarge the economic base, which alone can lead to the extra revenue and the bigger pay cheques we all desire" he stressed.
President Kufuor told the workers that most companies in the country were in distress due to the stiff competition from abroad, "indeed some have even been ruined and others under threat".
He said over the years, the government had not been able to raise adequate revenue to balance the budget and provide basic utilities. "And because of the stunted growth in this economy, even those we call rich in Ghana seem more like poor cousins of the really rich in other parts of the sub-region".
He, therefore, appealed to stakeholders, especially the labour front not to suspect each other's motives as that would be counter productive to the fortunes of the strategic partnership that needed to be put in place for the economy to grow.
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Akuma (Brong Ahafo) 02 May 2002 - Mr John Owusu-Agyeman, a legal practitioner at Techiman, has urged the public to respect the country's cultural values since tradition existed before Christianity.
Tradition had existed since creation and the public should, therefore, respect its values to enhance the development, Mr Owusu-Agyeman said when he addressed the people of Akuma in the Nkoranza District at the launch of the ''Constitution Week'' by the District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
Mr Owusu-Agyeman deplored the harassment of widows and called for the abolition of the humiliating practice. Mr Sammy Asumah, Nkoranza District Director of NCCE, advised the people to study the Constitution to become abreast with its provisions.
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Apam (Central Region) 02 May 2002 - The Ghanaian government says it is determined to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by 50 per cent by the year 2010. ''It is, therefore, the concern of all to fight to make the disease no longer a public health problem,'' Dr Kweku Afriyie, Minister of Health, said.
Launching the Africa Malaria Day at Apam on Tuesday, Dr Afriyie said the practice of using community health agents has for some time been acknowledged to be an effective tool, adding that efforts were underway to extend it to other districts to make a greater impact on the fight against malaria.
Dr Afriyie said district assemblies had been directed to allocate one per cent of the District Assemblies' Common Fund to support malaria and guinea worm control programmes in their districts.
Mr Isaac Edumadze, Central Region Minister, said the effort of the chemical sellers and drug peddlers must be seen as contributing to the fight against malaria and must be supported to enable them reach out to the remotest areas of the country.
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Workers urged to fight for economic and
social justice
Accra (Greater Accra) 02 May 2002 - The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has stressed that it is necessary to intensify trade union education campaigns and explain to workers and the general public the need to fight for economic and social justice based on equality and equal benefits.
In a message to the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) on the occasion of this year's May Day celebration, signed by Mr Napoleon Agboada, Director of Public Education of the NCCE, the Commission underscored the need to implement programmes that ensured the basic rights of workers and their organisations.
The message says the NCCE regarded development as the means to satisfy the economic and social needs of workers and all citizens and also arouse working people to be actively involved in the solution of vital problems affecting them, their families and the nation at large.
The message stressed the need to take a step forward to consolidate the nation's young democracy and ensure its survival by encouraging all workers in the country to resolve to increase productivity and participate more actively in the governance of the country.
The Commission congratulated all Ghanaian workers for their hard work and requested the deepening of co-operation between the Commission and the TUC as the Commission celebrated its second National Constitution Week.
This, the Commission said, would enable workers to have adequate knowledge about the principles, objectives and provisions of the 1992 Constitution to become more informed in the democratic process of the country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 May 2002 - The National Secretariat of the National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has advised schools to keep to the Ghana Education Service (GES) approved fees.
A statement signed by the Acting President of GNAPS, Dr Kwame Nkrumah said the recent increase in the minimum wage from 5,500 cedis to 7,150 cedis should not lead automatically to an increase in school fees. It said the normal practice was that corresponding fee increases were often arrived at after consultation with and approval by the GES.
In this regard the National Executive Council of GNAPS would soon initiate negotiations with the GES with a view to approving new fees to enable the private schools to pay increased salaries commensurate with the minimum wage. Members of GNAPS should, therefore, wait for the outcome of the negotiations.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 02 May 2002 - Marriage couples have been advised to understand the rights and responsibilities of each other in order to promote peace and harmony in the home.
Ms Eudora Oppong of the Federation of Women in Law and Development gave the advice at a symposium on "The Rights and Responsibilities of Spouses", organised by the Kumasi Metropolitan Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for spouses in the Metropolis, as part of activities marking this year's Constitution Week Celebration, in Kumasi on Tuesday.
She said it was the responsibility of both spouses to maintain the home and protect each other at all times. Ms Oppong said spousal rights were fixed under the country’s laws and it was never right to take the life of a partner under any circumstances.
A renowned Marriagae Counsellor, Opanin Kwadwo Kyere said the time when men were considered as the sole breadwinners for the family were gone forever and advised parents not to expect much from their in-laws.
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