Ghana Labour Protest: Organised labour softens stance after meeting gov't

Leaders of the nine labour unions in Ghana known as “Organised Labour” have softened their stance to roll out a series of industrial actions to get government to reduce the recent increase in utility tariffs and petroleum products.

Organised Labour on Wednesday embarked on a nationwide demonstration to demand government reduces the utility tariffs to 50 percent instead of the 59.2 percent for electricity and 69.2 percent for water. They also demanded the removal of the new energy sector levy which pushed the prices of petroleum products up by almost 30 percent.

Government explained that the levies and taxes were inevitable, insisting it would not review them.

After a marathon meeting between organised labour and government on Thursday however, the group has backed down on some of its demands.

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***Government and organised labour press briefing (JoyNews)***Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress, Kofi Asamoah told the media the labour groups would consult their members over the fresh proposals government has presented to them.

Details of the government’s latest proposals are not readily available. The two groups are expected to continue with their negotiations next Tuesday, January 27, 2016.