Prof. Agyemang-Duah criticizes government for underestimating organized labor’s power in SSNIT dispute
Former UN Senior Governance Advisor, Prof. Baffour Agyemang-Duah, has expressed astonishment at the government’s belief that it could disregard the concerns of organized labor.
He found it surprising that the government underestimated the influence of organized labor, especially given the critical role of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) fund in securing workers’ futures.
“If organized labor wants to paralyze the whole country, they are in a position to do so. That was why I was surprised when they were defending what was indefensible and dragging their feet,” Prof. Agyemang-Duah said.
“SSNIT represents the future of all workers in the country because, by law, you are supposed to keep part of their salaries, hoping that upon retirement, they may get some cushion to lay their head. So, if someone is playing with that kind of future, you can understand why workers will rise in unison to oppose it,” she added.
He also commented on SSNIT’s plan to sell 60% of its stake in four hotels, suggesting that either SSNIT did not present its case well or there was a serious conflict of interest.
Organized labor had suspended a strike, which began in protest against SSNIT’s plan to sell the shares to a private firm owned by Food and Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.
The decision to suspend the strike was announced by the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Yaw Baah, after an emergency meeting.
Dr. Baah stated that SSNIT has one month to address all outstanding pension issues, or labor would take further action.
Prof. Agyemang-Duah described the breakdown in the relationship between organized labor and SSNIT as “bad news” and criticized SSNIT for appearing to defend a public official’s desire to acquire state assets.
He emphasized that the government should have taken the labor protests seriously from the start.
“In the 70s, labor paralyzed the military regime of the time. Between 1975 to 1977, there were lots of labor agitations, leading to internal changes within the government itself. Since then, we know that whenever labor begins to rumble over these matters, the government has no options but to capitulate. Perhaps, lessons must be learned from the peaceful demonstration in Kenya, which escalated and forced the government to retract its stance and quickly make cabinet changes,” he concluded.
