The Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), Mr. Arezki Mezhoud has attended the National May Day Celebration in Ghana held at the forecourt of the Ghana-Trades Union Congress (TUC) headquarters. The celebration which took on a more muted form due to the restrictions posed by Covid-19 took place on the 1st of May, 2021, under the theme “Economic Recovery in an Era of Covid-19: The Role of Social Partners”. Various dignitaries graced the event including, the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, the Vice-President, His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah and the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Quartey.
Addressing the guests, the Secretary-General of the Ghana-TUC, Anthony Yaw Baah stressed on the need for social partners to work together to kickstart the Ghanaian economy which has suffered dire effects over Covid-19. He also emphasised the unique opportunity presented by digital technology in propelling the Ghanaian economy forward. Addressing the president, he revealed a number of concerns highlighted by the various worker’s unions, including the issue of workers’ pension, the national minimum wage and the need to ratify ILO conventions on child labour and trafficking. The Secretary-General concluded with a call on all social partners to sacrifice in the interim in order to overcome the challenges introduced by the coronavirus pandemic.
In his address, the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo recognised the difficulties that have emerged due to the Covid-19 pandemic and assured Ghanaians that his government was working to secure more vaccines to fast-track the vaccination campaign in the country. He encouraged all workers to promote safety in the workplace by adhering to safety protocols especially, the wearing of face masks and assured them that their concerns had been duly noted, with discussions on the national minimum wage, already in progress. He also seized the opportunity to allay any fears over retrenchments or reductions of salary in the public workers sector and touched on government’s GHȻ100 billion Covid-19 alleviation program dubbed ‘Obaatan pa’ which seeks to revitalize the Ghanaian economy.
At the end of the celebration, workers from the various affiliate organisations were presented with awards for their contribution to the Ghanaian workspace.
