TUC orders Sunon-Asogli to instate dismissed workers

By Selorm GBORBIDZI, Accra
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the management of Sunon-Asogli Power Limited to reinstate three workers who were recently dismissed or face their wrath.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra yesterday, Secretary General of the TUC, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, alleged that these three workers had been laid off for exercising their constitutional right to free association, when thy joined the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU).
According to the TUC Secretary General, “What is happening at Sunon-Asogli Power Limited has serious implications for our constitutional rights to freedom of association and to organise and collective bargaining.”
He therefore said that “the issue is no longer a matter for the GMWU of TUC. It is a matter for the TUC and all its affiliates.”
Outlining the series of events that have led to this decision to rise in solidarity with the sacked workers, Dr Baah said, nearly 70 workers of Sunon-Asogli Power Limited took the decision to join the GMWU in February, 2021.
The GMWU and the workers at Sunon-Asogli went through all the necessary legal processes to acquire a Collective Bargaining Certificate which was duly issued by the Chief Labour Officer. The Collective Bargaining certificate empowers the GMWU to represent and negotiate with the Company on behalf of the unionized workers.
The Company, through its lawyers right from the outset demanded to know the names of the unionized workers as a condition for the recognition of the Collective Bargaining Certificate issued by the Labour Department.
This issue ended at the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the Commission, which on two occasions, directed and ruled that the list of the names of the workers was not relevant at that stage and that the Certificate was properly and legally issued to GMWU, so the Company must enter into negotiations with the Union. The Company and its lawyers disregarded the decisions of the Commission with impunity and have since refused to respond to any correspondence from GMWU.
On the basis of the Commission’s Ruling and in accordance with the Labour Act, GMWU wrote to the management of the Company in January, 2023 inviting them to start negotiations. In February 2023, the Union wrote again to the Company with the list of unionized workers requesting for the deduction and payment of monthly subscriptions to the Union, in accordance with GMWU Constitution.
The Company refused to comply with the request of the Union citing concerns over the Collective Bargaining Certificate, a matter which had been settled by the National Labour Commission.
Based on the Company’s intransigence and blatant refusal to comply with sections 102 and 111 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) as well as its refusal to respond to any correspondence from the Union, a notice of intention to embark on strike was served by the Union on the Company and copied to the National Labour Commission.
The National Labour Commission summoned the Parties to appear before it on March 1, 2023, given the essential nature of the Company’s operations. The management of the Company refused to appear before the Commission.
Instead, they got their lawyers to send a note to inform the Commission that they could not appear because they were appearing before another high court.
Prior to this, specifically on Friday, 13th February, 2023, at 5:30pm, the leadership of GMWU met some unionized workers of the company in a public space outside the company’s premises.
The purpose of the meeting was to fraternize with the members and to inform them of an Impending election of their leaders at the enterprise level. After that meeting GMWU was informed by the workers that a number of them had been issued with query letters apparently for joining the union and meeting with the union leaders. Please note that the workers who met the leaders of GMWU were all off duty. This development was also brought to the attention of the Commission.
The Commission scheduled another hearing on March 8, 2023 and directed both parties to “stay all ongoing and/or any intended action(s)”. The actions the Commission referred to were the “intended strike by the Complainant Union (i.e., GMWU), the issuance of queries and the request for responses to same by the Respondent Management (ie., Sunon-Asogli Power Ltd) including any other action(s) that may be directly or indirectly related to the issue(s) in dispute”.
This directive notwithstanding, on 2nd March, 2023 (i.e., a day after the Commission’s directive) the management of the company terminated the employment of three of the Sunon-Asogli Power branch union leaders including the Union Secretary, the Assistant Secretary and the Chairperson for the reason that they have joined a trade union and have been elected to lead workers at the enterprise level.
The TUC also allege that at the time of termination of the appointments of the three union leaders, only the Local Union Secretary was on duty.
The Chairperson and the Assistant Secretary were both off duty.
They further allege that the Union Secretary was “handed his termination letter on the same day and escorted out of the company premise by officers of the Ghana Police Service.”
The Chairperson and the Assistant Secretary were however denied access into the company’s premises and their termination letters sent to them via email.
The assistant secretary who was resident on the premises, was given 24 hours to vacate his residence.
Dr Baah alleged further acts of intimation and, victimisation and abuse of the other Ghanaian workers by their Chinese bosses with the support of their Ghanaian collaborators.
Among these abuses are demands for local union executives to either rescind their decision to remain in the union or face termination of their employment.
He also indicated that all team leaders who Have opted to join the Union had been relieved of their duties. And taken off company platforms where production-related matters discussed.
Furthermore, he said that , all unionised employees are being asked to quit the Union, so that their salaries can be increased in return, while unionised workers are being transferred from their departments to other departments where they have not been trained to work.
The Secretary General warned that “the TUC will not stand by for any worker in Ghana to suffer any such abuse, humiliation and indignity for freely choosing to exercise their rights guaranteed by our Constitution labour laws and International Labour Organisation conventions.”
He stressed, “no worker in the formal or informal economy of Ghana will be allowed to suffer any form of injustice for choosing to join or form a trade union. Even the President of Ghana cannot stop any worker from in Ghana from exercising his or her right to belong to a trade union.”
They therefore said that if by April 3 the three local leaders are not reinstated and the various acts of intimidation and victimisation have not ceased, the mother Union and its affiliate unions would have no choice than to “advice ourselves.”
They therefore called on the National Labour Commission, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, The Minister of Energy, the Minister of National Security and the Minister of Finance to take an interest in the matter, “because if our demands are not met, we are going to act decisively in accordance with the TUC’s principles.”
When contacted for comments, the head of Human Resource at Sunon-Asogli, Bernard Bortey, declined to comment.