ICU Regional conferences to herald 12th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference

The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (Ghana) has started its regional conferences ahead of its 12th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference scheduled for August 2025. 

So far, the conferences have been held in the Ashanti, Bono, Western, Central, Eastern and Volta regions.

Addressing the conferences in the Ashanti and Bono regions, the General Secretary of the ICU, Morgan Ayawine, called on employers and workers to be guided by their collective agreements and the Labour Law.

He said collective agreements and the Labour Law "are our key tools and do the right thing at all times so that either party will be justified in the end".

Similar messages were shared at the regional conferences in the Western and Eastern Regional Conferences addressed by the ICU Deputy General Secretary in charge of Operations, Emmanuel Benimah, on behalf of Mr Ayawine.  

At the Volta and Central regional conferences, Mr Ayawine's address was read by the ICU-Ghana Deputy General Secretary in charge of Administration, Samuel Ananga.

Deliberations

The ICU General Secretary urged conference delegates to actively participate in all the deliberations and decisions of this conference " to ensure that we collectively and rightly take decisions that would reflect the aims and objectives of the National Union in our quest to continue as the preferred trade union organization in Ghana and one of the best in Africa.", he emphasised.

He pointed out that the forthcoming 12th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the ICU would present the union a great opportunity to talk to the government on socio-economic issues that were not helping the cause of workers on whose shoulders the development of the nation rest, as well as policies that were inimical to the interest and livelihood of workers, through conference resolutions.

"Looking back on 2021, we can say without fear of contradiction that the union has exerted and re-built itself from the ashes of the COVID-19 Pandemic that wreaked havoc across business enterprises, and caused huge membership attrition of the Union, which ran its full course and formally declared no longer malignant at the end of 2021, after the 11th Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference," he said.  

Partnership

Turning to the need for a harmonious working environment, Mr Ayawine reiterated the need for equal partnership on the side of union and management for effective collaboration, since capital and labour stood on an equal pedestal to merge and produce, to bring about the profitability of the business.

He emphasised that capital standing on its own could not produce and make a profit, neither could labour standing alone produce and earn income.  

"It is, therefore, logical that these two indispensable components of business merge on equal footing to enable a successful business to be conducted," he said.

He, however, cautioned against situations where union-management relationship was characterised by misunderstanding, and unfair treatment, which impaired the relationship leading to strikes and lockouts, which affected productivity. 

Backlash

Mr Ayawine said such acts, which tended to create a backlash on union-management relationships, should be avoided because they did not augur well for the sustainability of business.

He noted: "In these challenging times which we find ourselves, every effort must be made by the government, employers and labour to address labour-related concerns with speed and alacrity to forestall unnecessary industrial actions at the workplace.

Productivity suffers when there is no peace and harmony within the arena of labour relations."