MAY DAY MESSAGE FROM NPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO TO WORKERS

On the occasion of “MAY DAY”, I salute the working people of Ghana. I congratulate Ghanaian workers for your contributions to our Independence struggle and to our nation’s development since then.

In our recent history, workers, particularly those in the public sector, have borne the brunt of many of the reforms aimed at reforming our economy and reducing government deficits. For example, between 1988 and 1999, as a result the divestiture of about 300 State-Owned-Enterprises, employees of these enterprises decreased from 123,000 to 53,000, a loss of 70,000 jobs. While the restructuring was necessary, due care should have been exercised to give affected employees alternatives in the private sector. Since the advent of the NPP administration, it has made the lives of working people better, much better than before.

First, we passed the Labour Act of 2003 that consolidated many laws, some dating from 1965. The new law consolidated the old laws in conformity with the Constitution of the 4th Republic and ILO Conventions. It also established the National Labour Commission to promote co-operation between Labour and Management and provide for effective dispute resolution.

Second, the NPP government has passed the “FAIR WAGES AND SALARIES ACT” to ensure a fair, systematic and transparent implementation of public service pay.

Third, we have significantly improved real wages and salaries since 2001. Fourth, we have established the National Youth Employment Programme that has found avenues of employment and training for about a hundred thousand young men and women to date.

These are in addition to improvements in education and health sectors that have made the lives of all of our families better.

Despite these achievements, the work of the NPP for the betterment of the lives of ordinary Ghanaians is not yet done. Indeed, as long as people willing to work have no jobs and others working are under-employed or under-paid, our work will not be done.

The next NPP government will build on the foundation laid by the current government. It will continue, together with the people of Ghana, the structural transformation of our economy and the modernization of our society in addition to other tasks. The transformation of our economy will be done by accelerating the reform of our educational system to provide the skills needed by people in the work place of the 21st century to gain well-paid employment and to provide opportunities for life-long learning for adults in the work place through grants and tax-credits.

Furthermore, we shall expand the mobilisation of Ghanaian capital and talent, both home and abroad, for investment to create jobs here at home. The purpose of this Ghanaian Economic Empowerment is to make Ghanaians winners in the global economy and masters of our own destiny. We shall do this by completing the land reform started by the current government, continuing to build infrastructure, making access to capital easier, and increasing research funding. Our efforts will focus more on agriculture, ICT, tourism, housing and energy.

Together, the NPP government and the good people of Ghana, with the working people as the vanguard, shall continue to build a nation that we can leave to our children and their children with pride and dignity.

Long live the working people! Long live the labour movement! Long live Ghana! Long live Africa!

Signed Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo