Labour unions are on strike
Read full articleLabour unions seeking 20% COLA
Plea by Akufo-Addo did not yield any result
There is currently labour agitation in the country as some labour unions have declared a strike demanding a 20% Cost of Living Allowance - COLA - at a period when Ghana is seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
A plea by the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for the unions to reconsider their stance, has not yielded the needed result as the labour unions maintain they will not back down on their demands.
This labour agitation about the cost of living in the country is not new. In the 1980s, there were similar agitations by some workers of GIHOC who marched to the Parliament House to register their protest.
At the Parliament House, the protesting GIHOC workers gripped parliament's breakfast. This is because MPs of the Third Republican Parliament had taken to their heels when they saw the protesters.
Joachim Amartey Kwei, a protege of Jerry John Rawlings, addressed the protesters at the time.
He spoke about the harsh economic conditions; claiming that the suffering Ghanaian was feeding on water for breakfast and lunch while those in power were drinking 'porridge-like tea' for breakfast in the midst of poverty.
Excerpts of Amartey Kwei's address to the workers at the Accra Community Centre was shared by veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako on his Facebook timeline.
In his speech, Amartey Kwei stated in pidgin: "gentlemen, I want to say something, and what I want to say ebi this. Today we dey celebrate the second anniversary of June 4th. And eno bi only second anniversary we dey celebrate here, but today ebi one year wey those workers wey they dey suffer for this country, including myself, go for Parliament House to send protest.
"And when we go, you saabe what happened? Wey we dey eat groundnut for town, they dey drink tea wey e thick like something!
"I say the tea wey they dey drink, the sugar and milk wey e dey inside, e make the tea thick like porridge!
"I am saying here today, on behalf of my colleagues, and asking Parliament House to come out publicly to announce to you, those things that workers destroyed in Parliament. I am challenging them to come out publicly."
Amartey Kwei was joined on stage by Jerry John Rawlings, Tsatsu Tsikata, K.B. Asante, Rev. Dr. Damoah, among others.
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Read below the full post of Kweku Baako:
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE (1)
....Amartey Kwei On The June 1980 GIHOC Worker's Protest At Parliament House.
"Gentlemen, I want to say something, and what I want to say ebi this. Today we dey celebrate the second anniversary of June 4th. And eno bi only second anniversary we dey celebrate here, but today ebi one year wey those workers wey they dey suffer for this country, including myself, go for Parliament House to send protest.
"And when we go, you saabe what happened? Wey we dey eat groundnut for town, they dey drink tea wey e thick like something!
"I SAY THE TEA WEY THEY DEY DRINK, THE SUGAR AND MILK WEY E DEY INSIDE, E MAKE THE TEA THICK LIKE PORRIDGE!
"I am saying here today, on behalf of my colleagues, and asking Parliament House to come out publicly to announce to you, those things that workers destroyed in Parliament. I am challenging them to come out publicly.
"It is so sickening that they can't come and announce those things just because they know what they are doing in Parliament House is very bad. WHEN WE ARE HUNGRY IN THIS COUNTRY, THEY SIT THERE AND DRINK TEA EVERY MORNING. THEY EAT FOWL, THEY DO THIS, THEY DO THAT. EVEN ONE SQUARE MEAL A DAY, WE CAN'T AFFORD OUR CHILDREN.
"LOOK, I AM TELLING YOU; ALL OF US ARE GRADUALLY BEING DRIVEN TO THE BRINK, AND WE WILL COMMIT ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS CRIMES AGAINST OUR CITIZENSHIP!
"The fact that some of us grew to know our parents as poor people, they never denied us food. One could always go into another's House and get food.
"BUT HERE WE ARE TODAY, WE CAN'T AFFORD. I WANT THOSE SECURITY PEOPLE TO KNOW; THEY SHOULD BE TOLD THAT 'KWASIA DRO, SHIKOME PE A TAA NOO'(Meaning: 'A FOOL's TESTICLES (BALLS) ARE STEPPED ON ONLY ONCE'!
PS: Amartey Kwei ended his fiery speech with this Ga Proverb (Ignore the spelling!) on that fateful day. And in response, the crowd and his other agitators/colleagues on the stage; Mr. Rawlings, Tsatsu Tsikata, K.B. Asante, Rev. Dr. Damoah, etc; cheered widely! The rest is history!!
Source: (KWEKU BAAKO MEDIA LTD.- Research Unit: Excerpts of Joachim Amartey Kwei's Speech on the Second Anniversary of the June 4th. INSURRECTION at the Accra Community Centre- 5th. June, 1981).
PEN/SARA/IA