Tema-Ghana, Feb. 7, MNN – Mr Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has called for the formation of a Labour Party to help champion the peculiar issues of workers at the executive level, “Organized Labour must consider working to capture power to govern the state.”
Mr Koomson stated that “Britain, Holland, and others have workers’ parties that is how workers can have hope in their leadership and secure the future, politicians over the years have demonstrated that they secure political power for their interest, the paradigm must change.”
The GFL General Secretary observed that with the three seats won by the workers, it helped in decision-making as they vote in support of policies that would favour employees when the two political parties take entrenched positions in parliament.
“If there are policies that are bad, and we have two political parties fighting among themselves, the policies that will favour workers is the one the representatives of workers would vote for,” he added.
Mr. Koomson, GFL General Secretary making the call at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform said the only way to secure the welfare of the workers in Ghana was to have workers in governance positions.
He said Ghana under the fourth republic has experienced governance ‘seesaw up and down, seesaw up and down’ between the current ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to their political advantage and disadvantage.
He explained that unfortunately when one takes over the political power-state vehicle; it drives and enjoys the state of governance for eight years, then tossed it over to the opponent, who would immediately describe the predecessors as having messed up the state.
Mr. Koomson explained that these two parties have not formulated any policy to properly address the issues of labour and workers in general.
He recalled that the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the past sponsored some workers to contest for Parliamentary seats and won three, these Labour MPs stood and fought for workers’ interest in parliament adding that unfortunately that practice was not sustained over the years.
He noted that these two political giants have taken the rest of the citizens for granted because there are no alternatives as the smaller parties are virtually their stooges who eat the crumbs that drop from their tables.
“These smaller political parties are comfortable with the tossed-over food from both the NPP and NDC therefore they are not ready to fight for the main meal,” he said.
He however bemoaned the attempts of the two political parties to divide the front of organized labour to prevent them from having a unified front to be the third force that Ghanaians were calling for.
Mr Koomson said Election 2024 offers Ghanaians the opportunity to change the political dynamics, “we cannot seat down and watch any longer it is now the responsibility of Organized Labour, Civil Society Organisations, Religious Bodies, Professional Groups, Traditional Authorities Gender Based Groups, and other interest groups to stand up and fight for mother Ghana at the next general election”.
