[ad_1]
Graphic Communications Group Limited workers at the May 1 parade in Accra. Image: PATRICK DICKSON
Workers from across the country joined their colleagues from around the world yesterday in the 2019 edition of May 1, also known as International Workers Day.
This day is marked as a holiday to celebrate workers' contributions to national development and nation building.
May 1 of this year coincided with the celebration of the centenary of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Ghana marked the day on the theme: "A sustainable pension for all; the role of the social partners. "
The May Day celebration in the country was a platform for workers to directly advocate for better conditions of service and raise other work-related issues.
Ghana News Titles
For the latest news in Ghana, visit the Graphic Online titles page
Ghana News Page
The organization of the celebration was led by the Labor Union, the Congress of Trade Unions of Ghana (TUC), and as part of the celebration, labor unions gathered on various grounds in the 16 regions of the country to commemorate this day.
National Holiday
The celebration of 2019 saw Accra workers converging on Black Star Square, dressed mostly in corporate brand t-shirts or organizations.
A group of workers dressed in red and red armbands and carrying placards reading "Defend for Ghana and put an end to the contract that killed you, stop fooling us with SSNIT, cutting premiums for voluntary retirement is unfair, "among other things, enrollment.
The celebration, which garnered mbadive support from the workers, was characterized by dancing, singing and drumming.
Although the posters posted by most labor unions evoke unfavorable working conditions, their bearers seemed to have, for the period under consideration, taken the trouble to take care of these concerns to make the most of the day.
Unlike previous years, when workers gathered at Black Star Square, they gathered at Obra Spot in the Kwame Nkrumah trading area at 6 am this year. and proceeded in procession at the traffic lights from Farisco to the TUC Headquarters before badembling at Black Star Square, where they presented their concerns through the TUC Secretary General, Mr. Anthony Yaw Baah, to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The president spoke to the parade.
Disturbance
The parade was briefly interrupted by a sudden rain, characterized by high winds and lots of sand.
Workers participating in the parade hid under the concrete hangars of Black Star Square and on their buses to avoid getting wet.
Some workers, however, defied time and continued singing, drumming and dancing in the rain.
After the rains, almost all the workers returned to the badembly area to listen to the different addresses and then continued singing, drumming, dancing and blowing vuvuzelas.
The rain of about 20 minutes accompanied by strong winds brought down some of the arches mounted on the badembly ground under which people were selling.
TUC Secretary General Anthony Yaw Baah and Minister of Employment and Labor Relations Ignatius Baffour Awuah also took the floor to speak later.
Roadmap
Dr. Baah called for a clear roadmap for a universal pension plan in the government's 2020 budget.
He described the current situation, where only 1.5 million workers out of about 13 million Ghanaians were covered by the Social Security Fund and National Insurance Fund (SSNIT) pension scheme, as unacceptable.
Context
Ghanaian workers celebrated their first day of May in 1960, three years after the country's independence, and the first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was declared: "Number One Worker" at the time of the day. event.
He received the May 1 TUC award, which was then headed by then-Secretary-General MJ K. Tettegah.
The May Day celebration was suspended following the first coup of the military state that overthrew the government of Dr. Nkrumah's Convention Party (PCP) on February 24, 1966.
The celebration resumed a year later, in 1967 and after the coup military state of 13 January 1972, led by General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, the event was marked by a large national parade on the forecourt from the Accra Community Center.
That year was institutionalized the rewards of May 1 in favor of dedicated TUC workers, led by Secretary General Alhaji A.M. Issifu.
Email of the author This email address is protected from spam. You must enable JavaScript to view it.
[ad_2]
Source link
