Government decision to lift coronavirus lockdown apt – TUC
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), the umbrella body for all workers unions in Ghana has described the decision of the Akufo-Addo administration to lift the COVID-19 restriction of movement in Greater Accra, Kasoa and Greater Kumasi as an excellent move to safeguard the economy and jobs in the country.
Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, communicated this when he addressed President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House on Monday, April 20 after the decision to lift the ban had come into effect.
“The restrictions on movements have yielded some positive results and we are all witnesses to this. Yesterday, you eased some of these restrictions and emphasized that other restrictions must be complied with strictly. We think it is the right thing to do given the dire economic consequences of prolonged restrictions,” the TUC Secretary-General noted.
Dr Baah said the TUC had started an assessment of the impact of the lockdown on labour in the country and would make its findings public.
“We are in the process of accessing the impact of the health crisis on employment in Ghana, and what we are seeing is mind-boggling. Businesses are collapsing in almost all the sectors of the economy, many people have already lost their jobs, and many more would have lost their jobs without the easing of some of these restrictions,” Dr. Baah noted.
Dr. Baah further extended an invitation to the President to participate in the TUC’s virtual May Day celebration on May 1. He indicated that the TUC intends to use the live television programme to send a strong message to the working people of Ghana on the need to protect themselves and their families from the COVID-19 virus.
President Akufo-Addo in his introductory remarks said the support of organized labour in the fight against the COVID-19 cannot be over emphasized. He indicated that government after lifting the lockdown ban will not relax its tracing, testing and treatment agenda. He assured the leadership of organized labour that his administration will do everything possible to safeguard jobs and labour concerns in Ghana. President Akufo-Addo also accepted the invitation of the TUC to join their virtual May Day celebration.