ICU ready for 24-Hour Economy — General Secretary

The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has indicated its readiness to support the implementation of the 24-hour Economy Programme.

It said once the policy was aimed at addressing the issue of unemployment, among other things, it was all for it.

“It means it's going to increase our productivity, it's going to enhance our economy. Once the economy improves, it means a lot because I have been singing one song and that song has been the non-existence of employment or jobs,” the General Secretary of ICU, Morgan Ayawine, said in an interview on the sidelines of the opening of the Professional and

Managerial Staff Union (PSMU) Co-ordinating Council Conference in Accra yesterday.

Panacea

"So if the 24-hour economy is the panacea, why not, and we are ready to join the bandwagon and make sure that the hydra-headed challenge that faces trade unions, and even the government, is dealt with once and for all so that workers will get more jobs, people will be employed," he added.

Mr Ayawine said unemployment was not good and that parents had toiled and spent money to educate their children, only for them to come out of school with no jobs, adding that it was time for Ghanaians to come together to deal with the canker of unemployment.

“Otherwise, education will be meaningless because how on earth do you expect Ghanaians to educate their children and when they come back, they do not get jobs to do,” Mr Ayawine said quizzically.

On the $4 billion voted for the programme, the General Secretary of the ICU said the money would not be enough since the problems had accumulated over the years, and so more money was required.

Conference

Mr Ayawine said the conference created the opportunity for members to take stock of the developments in the union, with particular reference to the PSMU and also plan towards the next quadrennial.

He said that since the formation of the PSMU, membership of the union had grown exponentially as a result of awareness among the working class, including senior staff and managers of various institutions.

“This development has resulted in senior staff associations in various organisations taking advantage of the new wind blowing and converting themselves to mainstream unions because they believe that they could speak with a much bigger voice,” he said.

Mr Ayawine said the ICU had come a long way as the PSMUs were fully integrated into the mainstream unions.

Appeal

“Going forward, we want to passionately appeal to the rest of the senior staff associations who are yet to join the union train in fulfilment of their constitutional rights to do so now without any inhibition from any quarters,” he said.

The acting Director of the PMSU Department of the ICU, Thomas Atiah, said the meeting was to discuss key issues affecting members, share ideas and identify ways to improve their working conditions.

The union, he said, was to discuss challenges and address pressing concerns impacting members’ work-life balance and professional growth.

Moreover, he said members aimed to “collaborate on solutions to enhance our productivity and job satisfaction” and “strengthen our collective voice and support one another in our endeavours”

“Let's work together to drive positive change and growth,” Mr Atiah said.

A newly reconstituted Executive Committee of the Coordinating Council of the PMSU was sworn into office at the conference by the ICU Deputy General Secretary in charge of Operations, Emmanuel Benimah.

The committee is chaired by Isaiah Nartey, with Rev. Charles Quainoo as Vice-Chairman and Justin Ayaribisa as secretary.

The others are Sampson Amoako, Assistant Secretary; Samuel Maxwell Cornelius Abaidoo, First Trustee; Evelyn Kwasi, Second Trustee; Abbas Abdulai, Executive Member; Barbara Agyekum Okyere; Women’s Representative; and Scott Nkrumah,Youth Representative.