Desptite blowing his own horn, home and abroad, that he is delivering on his promises and bettering the living conditions of Ghanaians, workers, on May Day, told the President and his government that they brag too much about nothing.
Before finally converging at the Black Star Square to listen to President Akufo-Addo’s rehearsed address to them, thousands of workers marched through some principal streets of the nation’s capital, flying placards some of which read:
‘The Ghanaian worker is indeed suffering’, ‘GRIDCo is viable; government pay us our ESLA debt’, ‘No ESLA money = dum dum’, ‘Government must pay its indebtedness to SSNIT’ and ‘SSNIT pension is like Patapa song…no sense’.
This year’s May Day celebration was hinged on the theme: ‘Sustainable pensions for all; the role of social partners’.
The waving of the placards demonstrated how unhappy majority of the public sector workers are, in spite of the government touting itself as stabilising the economy and thus, improving the living standards of Ghanaians.
The procession by the workers to the Black Star Square, from the Obra Spot, was a novelty and as if he knew what they were up to, Titus Glover, a Deputy Minister for Transport, begged the workers to rescind their decision to march to the Black Star Square.
His plea was at a symposium in Tema, where the area’s District Council of Labour was schooled on pensions.
He said the government of Nana Addo had been transparent and coordinated better with the Labour Unions than the previous government of John Mahama and the NDC.
Titus Glover continued that “this government has released money owed the workers by the previous administration and this government is more listening than its predecessor. This is a fact you can all attest to.”
That his ‘sweet’ words would tickle the Labour Unions to fly placards that would praise the government, was never to be.
The workers rather said the government should stop praising itself, when it is able to carry out its mandated duty as the biggest employer, whom the workers owe no commendation.
Story by Umar Sheriff / awakenewsonline.com