Business News of Thursday, 16 October 2014

Source: GNA

Employers urged to allow workers unionize

Employers have been called upon to allow workers to form unions that will enable them become better organised and have stronger bargaining power to enhance their welfare.

This is because it has been observed that most employers find it difficult to allow their workers to unionize for a number of reasons; major among them is their desire to cut cost.

Mr Nurudeen Mohammed, General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) for the Upper West Region made the call during the celebration of the World Precarious Workers Day in Wa.

He said particularly in the Upper West Region it was very difficult for employers to allow their workers to form or join other unions, hence, the low level of precarious workers involvement in unions in the Region.

He said because most companies wanted to cut cost, they rather preferred temporal workers who would have no right to negotiate anything with them.

Mr. Mohammed noted that belonging to unions would better place workers to negotiate for better conditions of service from their employers without being victimize.

The ICU General Secretary therefore appealed to workers in the Region to try and form or join unions to negotiate for improve working conditions from their employers.

“Precarious work includes, but not limited to on-site contracting of labour; direct hire of temporary labour; hiring of labour through agencies or brokers; outsourcing of labour; contractualisation of labour; casualisation of labour and all forms of employment that are not on-going and or direct”.

The World Precarious Workers Day which is being observed in Ghana for the first time is to bring the attention of government, employers, civil society, advocates of justice and equality, workers and the general public to the injustice and deprivation being meted out to this class of workers.