Tema-Ghana, June 19, CDA Consult – Dr. William Mensah-Ansah, an industrialist, praised the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) commitment to work towards a better future for all employees.
He claimed that the revised mandate of the ILO to understand and anticipate the transformational forces currently at play and to be ready to act rapidly in the face of unforeseen events and catastrophes deserved widespread recognition.
Dr. Mensah-Ansah stated over the weekend that labour unions from all over the world need to adopt a new paradigm based on diplomatic engagement and open labour relations in order to maintain a stable labour market.
According to The Tema-Based Industrialist, the Sunon Asogli Power Plant, a critical source of power, is currently being exploited by a wicked triangle of employers, including the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union and the Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC). This behaviour is inappropriate.
The world of labour is changing at an unparalleled velocity and scope, Dr. Mensah-Ansah emphasised, as a result of climate change, demographic changes, technology advancements, and, more broadly, globalisation.
He demanded a halt to the hostilities that the Ghana Mineworkers Union had launched at the Sunon Asogli Power Plant.
He argued that labour unions need to start thinking about collaborating with governments and other employers in order to resolve these problems and offer pathways for attaining social justice in a society that is becoming more and more complex.
The most crucial part of the global economy that Ghanaian Labour Unions must consider, he highlighted, is the reality that people, goods, and capital are flowing across countries even more fast as a result of the use of new technology in the workplace.
“As a result, a global economic network that is interconnected and affects almost everyone on the planet emerges. He asserts that “Today’s globalisation involves the internationalisation of trade, banking, and migration.
He remarked, “These are serious issues that call for diplomatic discourse as opposed to an adversarial posture, as we are currently witnessing at Sunon Asogli Power Plant.”
Dr. Mensah-Ansah emphasised that whether technological innovation will create or eliminate jobs is one of the most crucial discussions concerning the future of work.
This is a question that the Ghanaian labour market, particularly Organised Labour, needs to start addressing.
He asserted that Ghana has begun a rigorous digitization and digitalization drive and has assumed a new dimension in the age of robotization and artificial intelligence. “What is the future of workers?” These are issues that call for an all-encompassing solution.
He said, “Organised Labour must adopt the new model of diplomatic interaction with governments and businesses to ensure the future of workers in the current moment of transformation.
Dr. Mensah-Ansah pointed out that in the modern era, the true difficulty that technology advancement creates is to figure out how, in this period of transition, aid may be given to businesses and people to help them adjust to new tasks by helping them physically and intellectually.
He emphasised that the ongoing conflict between the management of Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Limited and the Ghana Mineworkers Union of the TUC is bad for both employees and investors.
According to Dr. Mensah-Ansah, “Investors also demand the same, as well as protection and security of their investment, and workers need a conducive environment to work in.”
Dr. Mensah-Ansah urged the TUC to replace its antiquated adversarial battling tactics with contemporary diplomatic techniques of mediation.
