Public Utility Workers Union begin 3-day boycott

The Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU), has begun a three-day boycott in protest of the planned privatisation of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) by government.

The three-day demonstration which begins Wednesday, August 24 and will last for three hours each day, is expected to take place in all regional offices of the power distributor.

Deputy General Secretary of the PUWU, Richard Nyaba, in an interview with Joy News’ Maxwell Agbagba said the association is hoping that the demonstration will move government to reconsider its decision on privatising the company.

Mr Nyaba was at the Accra East Regional office of the ECG on Tuesday to announce the planned boycott declared by the Union's leadership.

He believes solving the massive problems the power distribution company is plagued with does not lie in its privatization.

“Privatisation comes with its own problems. Enough is enough, they have privatised a lot of government institutions and nothing has changed, let us keep this national asset and maintain it," he said.

“We think that as Ghanaians we can all sit together and think about how to transform this company to make it more effective and more profitable for all of us to benefit than giving it to a private businessman to make all the profit and repatriate it to their country,” Mr Nyaba added.

He was hopeful that the three-day boycott will achieve the desired response from government, but was quick to add that if it doesn’t, then “I can assure you the PUWU, its leadership and all affiliate unions will come together to take a decision but I believe that by Friday we will hear something positive.”

Some of the workers are against the privatization because they believe they will lose their jobs after five years and this is something they cannot accept.

The workers were busily singing and dancing to some protest songs during the productive hours of 8am to 11am when the Joy News reporter visited.

In the Eastern Region, correspondent Kofi Siaw reports that the workers have begun the demonstration.

They, like their counterparts in Accra, are insisting that a privatisation will not auger well for the Company.

The Union Secretary in the region, Abraham Lincoln said if government is asking for a private person to manage ECG, then “I am thinking that probably we should also ask somebody ton take care of the presidency.”

“If we continue with this, it will get to a time that the Speaker of Parliament will be a white person, and even the judiciary will be given on concession," he added.

He said government should not allow the United States of America to dictate to Ghana how it must run its affairs.

“Government has to understand that the over 6,500 staff of ECG are also Ghanaians and that we also achieve a stake in ECG. We are confident that we can manage ECG ourselves,” he said.

The same message is being preached by the workers in the Volta and Central region where correspondents, Ivy Setrodjie and Kweku Owusu Preprah are reporting from.

Some customers who had gone to the premises to purchase credit for their prepaid meters and pay their water bills have been left unattended to.

They have had to go back to their various homes disappointed.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected]