Galamsey: We’ll proceed with nationwide strike – Organised Labour

Organised Labour has confirmed its decision to proceed with the nationwide strike planned for Thursday, October 10, 2024.

The group expressed dissatisfaction with President Akufo-Addo’s response to their demands, despite his reaffirmed commitment to addressing the illegal mining issue.

Organised Labour has been urging the president to declare a state of emergency on illegal mining and implement long-term solutions to combat the menace.

Speaking to the media on Monday, October 7, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Joshua Ansah, reiterated the union’s determination to go ahead with the strike unless significant action is taken by the government before the ultimatum.

“We have concluded as follows; our strike remains unchanged,’ he stated.

He continued: “We are of the view that what the government has proposed does not adequately address our demands and therefore our notice of strike remains unchanged.”

Meanwhile, tensions have surfaced within Organised Labour as some factions, particularly from the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) and other groups, claim they were not consulted before the announcement of the strike.

A faction, identifying themselves as “Concerned Members of Organised Labour,” has voiced opposition to how the strike decision was communicated. Although they support the fight against galamsey, they believe the leadership’s approach to declaring the strike was improper.

The group is calling on Organised Labour’s leadership to suspend the strike and engage in further dialogue with the government.

Dr. Solomon Fokuo, a member of TUTAG, expressed these concerns to journalists in Kumasi, emphasizing that if the leadership had shown the same level of commitment to addressing the welfare of their members, the situation could have been handled more effectively.

“We are all against galamsey. We are against all those who are destroying our waterbodies and the environment and we urge the government to use legal means to stop it to protect our environment but the major concern is what Organised Labour is talking about.

“They have decided to declare a strike on October 10 but we were not consulted and we have not been involved and are not aware.

“We have not been involved in any of the activities that they have been doing. We don’t know where they get their energy from and if they had used the same energy in fighting for our welfare, things would have been better.”