Organised labour has refused to suspend its nationwide industrial strike, which begins today, Monday, July 15, 2024, despite a U-turn by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The sale of SSNIT’s 60 per cent share in four hotels to Rock City Hotel, owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong, triggered the industrial action.
However, the cancellation of the deal by SSNIT has not convinced workers to return to their desks.
In an interview on Monday, July 15, 2024, the Deputy Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Kenneth Koomson, maintained that the strike would not be called off until the SSNIT board is dissolved.
“Ghana’s independence wouldn’t have been possible without the involvement of workers, and politicians should know that. The unity displayed on July 12 is just the tip of the iceberg, and going forward, organised labour is going to ensure that the ordinary Ghanaian is well taken care of.
“SSNIT’s function is to ensure social security for the population, and so the leadership [of organised labour] recognised that the way by which the hotels were being sold was flawed, and if you look at the content of the letter, we said we were not going to call off the strike until SSNIT board is dissolved,” he noted in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on Citi FM.
He added that an emergency meeting would be held today, after which a new development concerning the strike will be announced.
“We thought that it was important to assemble today to review the letter that has been written by SSNIT and then take a decision, and so today will be a day to communicate to the public where we stand today, and an announcement will be made afterwards,” he added.
It will be recalled that at a brief meeting on Friday, July 12, 2024, labour unions announced displeasure at the sale of the 6o per cent stake in the hotels despite showing dissatisfaction with the decision, leading to the industrial action.