As Ghanaians join the world to mark the Workers Day today, May 1, the Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union has called on government to enforce the equal-work for equal-pay sanctioned by the Labour Law.
The Western Regional Relations Officer for the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, Richard Hanson, speaking to Citi News during the May parade in Takoradi said Ghanaian Petroleum workers are still being treated unfairly, despite the Local Content and the Labour laws.
As usual, on every May 1st, workers around the world including Ghana, parade to put forward issues of poor working conditions and welfare.
At the Takoradi Jubilee grounds parade where workers in and around the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis converged, the issues were not different as they paraded with placards calling for fair wages and better conditions of work.
The Relations Officer of the Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, Richard Hanson told Citi News that Ghanaian Petroleum workers are unfairly paid for equal work due to non-enforcement of the Labour and Local Content Laws.
“As National Union, time and tide again we have advocated for a national salary structure for oil and gas sector. Of course, this call has fallen on the death-ears of the government, but we think that it is something that is achievable. So we continue to engage the stakeholders to get this salary structure implemented. Not withstanding that, there is also a pronouncement by President Akufo-Addo in enforcing Section 68 of the Labour Act, which is about Equal-Work for Equal-Pay.”
“So we still want to urge the President that whereas he is calling for Equal-Work for Equal-Pay, it must be a holistic agenda to put Ghanaian workers at par with the expatriates if they are doing the same work and have the same qualification.”
The Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, also wants the Petroleum Commission to enforce its laws to end the invasion by expatriate workers and companies at the downstream oil and gas activities meant for locals.