The aggrieved staff of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) have criticised the management of the firm for shutting down operations after they went on a demonstration.
The workers embarked on a series of protests on October 31, 2022, over poor remuneration and retirees occupying top positions in the company, but the management responded by shutting down the company.
According to some of the workers at VALCO, this unfair conduct by the management could cost the government about $2o million to restore operations.
“The cells we use here for working are about 127. The cells are where we carry out metal works, and it looks like a big cooking pot; that is where we melt the metals. If you shut it down, you will need about $100,000 to restore it; if you add all that, you will require about $12.7 million to fix all the cells.
“The salaries we are demanding is less than $1 million, but because of evil intentions, you have shut down the company. Beyond that, the firm will require more electricity, additional workers who will for overtime and all these will cost almost $ 20 million,” a spokesperson for the staff told the media.
The workers indicated that the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) had cut the power supply to the company. When they decided to investigate the matter, they were told the order to shut down the plant was from above.
The workers alleged the order was given to GRIDCo by the Chief Executive Officer of VALCO, Daniel Acheampong, who has held that position for over eight years.
One of the spokespersons from VALCO in a press conference indicated that “although the major reason for their demonstration yesterday was retirees still occupying prominent positions in the country, their concern also is the fact that the workers of VALCO are poorly paid whilst others don’t get salaries at all”.
He again added that some of them have worked with the company for several years and yet have not been promoted as the company’s rule demands.
According to the workers, the high standard of living in the country makes the situation unbearable for them. They have indicated that most retirees do not have the company at heart, and strong, active, and young managers are needed to handle positions in the company due to the rigorous work.
During the demonstration, some of the workers indicated that sometimes the work demands that they travel outside Ghana or to other regions and should be appreciated for working beyond what they are expected to do on the field.
Others also lamented about retirees employing their relatives to replace them in the company without following due process.
Therefore, the staff are calling on the government to come to their aid as they believe “they are being treated unfairly by management”.