TUC cautions on growing job losses  in private sector

The Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Kofi Asamoah says more attention is needed to solve the growing loss of jobs in the private sector. 

He said current data shows that thousands of workers have been declared redundant and others dismissed without recourse to laid down procedures. This according to him does not augur well for the country's development.  

Mr Asamoah said this at the 9th regular quadrennial delegates conference of the Construction and Building Materials Workers Union of the TUC.   

The TUC Secretary-General Kofi Asamoah noted that the only credible basis that the country can measure its collective performance is through the provision of jobs and income security. 

He said government must provide direct employment to the youth in priority areas such as education, health, security, housing, sanitation and transport infrastructure. He urged government to fulfill its promise of making job creation one of its objectives. 

Mr Asamoah appealed to government to investigate the alleged huge rise in the public sector wage bill in the midst of the concerns of workers of low pay and delays in implementing other related matters on the Single Spine Salary Structure. 

Mr Asamoah also appealed to politicians to be circumspect in their utterances and actions to ensure political stability in the December elections.

The General Secretary of Construction and Building Materials Workers Union, Pius Kweku Quainoo, called for the formation of a Construction Industry Development Board which will be similar to the COCOBOD whose responsibility would be the formulation of a policy on industry.  

Mr Qainoo also called on government to exempt workers from paying tax on terminal benefits and scale down the high overtime rates.    

GNA