ICU lauds govt for reactivating PBC Shea Limited
The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), Ghana, has hailed the government's reactivation of the PBC Shea Limited Factory in the Savanna Region of the country.
“There is no gainsaying this singular act of government in taking a gallant step to revive the PBC Shea Limited factory gives ICU-Ghana hope that other struggling industries will equally attract the government’s prompt attention towards sustainable job opportunities in the country.
“The initiative is very much welcomed, but it is important that the government walk its talk by ensuring adequate funding for the company in good time,” it said.
The union, it said, was particularly happy with the latest development at the PBC Shea Limited Factory, because, during its regional conference in Tamale, on March 27, 2025, it made a passionate appeal to the government to see to the immediate revival of the factory, among other state-owned enterprises (SOEs), to create jobs in the country.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the ICU, Morgan Ayawine, said readily available raw material played a critical role in sustaining production in industries and that it was in that regard that ICU-Ghana would urge the government to go to great lengths to ensure a sustainable supply of raw material (shea nuts) to the factory.
Issues of shortage of raw materials, it said, should be consigned to the past, “if we are to reap the full benefits from the revival of the PBC Shea Limited factory.”
“We urge the management and workers at the PBC Shea Limited factory to keep the momentum in the production process, so that more investors can come on board to expand the operations of the factory, to make it a major catalyst for development in the Savanna Region in particular and Ghana in general.
“Let the revival of the PBC Shea Limited factory be the beginning of greater things to come in the area of employment generation in Ghana,” it said.
Support for the PBC Plc
ICU-Ghana also called on the government to initiate another bold move immediately to get the funding needed for the PBC PLC (the mother company) to purchase cocoa beans in the upcoming major cocoa season.
“We are of the firm belief that PBC Plc, with its outlets strategically located across the length and breadth of the country, when adequately funded, has the capacity to create more jobs for Ghanaians.
PBC Plc’s contribution to Ghana’s infrastructural development in its heyday should tell us what it can still do, when supported to bounce back in the business of buying cocoa beans,” it emphasised.
As a union, it said it would not relent in collaborating with its social partners (both public and private sectors) to create sustainable job openings to absorb its teaming young fellow citizens.
“Our young people deserve better employment opportunities, to contribute their quota to Ghana’s development agenda.
“It is for this reason, as a workers’ union, we are ever ready to lend a hand to any progressive move by both the government and the private sector to establish industries with the potential to create sustainable jobs.
We hope to see many more such ventures, such as the PBC Shea Limited Factory and allied companies within the cocoa industry in the country, getting the required funding support in the coming months,” it said.
The ICU urged workers to be good stewards in their workplaces and help preserve the institutions and industries because their expansion would have multiplier effects in ensuring better job openings in Ghana, as this will no doubt be a game-changer in employment generation in the country.