The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa has commended Ghanaian workers for their services and commitment to work. According to him, the government recognises the role of traders, seamstresses and tailors, artisans , drivers , private sector workers civil and public service staff among others as they work to ensure that the country live up to its full potential.
Addressing the 2022 Volta regional celebration of Organised Labour at the regional capital Ho, the Regional Minister lauded the choice of the theme for the celebration, ‘’Protecting Jobs And Incomes In The Era of COVID-19 Pandemic And Beyond’’ stressing that the theme was more appropriate because the country had recently started recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
The Regional Minister noted that COVID-19 did not only lead to the loss of lives, but also affected negatively the economy of the country.
According to the minister, in governments attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19, businesses were affected, some workers laid off.
He noted that economic growth of the country was truncated and budget deficit increased during the pandemic but in the midst of all these challenges, the President demonstrated high level of commitment towards protecting the livelihood of the people.
The Minister further told the gathering that the country had come out of the woods, however the ravages of the pandemic on the economy are being seen and recognized by all.
The Regional Minister said the government was working closely with the people of Ghana for the rebound of the economy. He stressed that the persistent determination of the government to reverse the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 in order to protect jobs, create more employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors and to improve on the physical infrastructure of the country was being followed.
Dr Letsa assured the people of the region that the government was committed to improving the working conditions of all workers especially those in the public sector, which included remuneration of workers and that steps were being taking to have the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) reviewed.
The Acting Volta Regional Secretary of Organised Labour, Mr Gordon Bodza noted that the high economic situation in the country, which contributed to the cost of living was making life extremely difficult for workers. In his view therefore, it was prudent for the government to increase salary of workers to enable them to withstand the hardship.
Mr. Bodza observed that numerous International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes did not help the country and the partisan approach to dealing with the country’s problems was also not working. To him, the country adopted what he called ‘home grown solutions’ supported by all the major players in the economy including the Executive, Parliament, Judiciary and workers among others.
