Ghana's President, John Evans Atta-Mills on Tuesday received representatives of the Ghana Welders and Pipe-Fitters association (WAPAG) at the Castle, Osu.
The meeting with the president by the Association was to present a proposal to the head of state to be the main referee in favour of labour in the industrial construction sectors in collaboration with the government.
The president of the association, Theophilus Adams in presenting the proposal stated the rationale behind the said proposal which includes improving the level of education by supporting institutions that teaches them.
He also bemoaned the spate of strikes and demonstrations by workers on the filed due to bad terms and conditions offered by contractors.
He also revealed that contractors do not pay the appropriate benefits entitled to workers even though some deductions are made in their salary to finance those benefits such as their social security and pension.
"Sometimes after the end of each project while having a rest for another opportunity to come, we use all our money's earned for treatment in hospitals for hazardous chemicals inhaled during work," he added.
The association also complained to the president on the huge sums of monies paid to expatriates who do the same or even less work than they do without even paying tax.
In his response, the president pledged to look into the matter of inequality and bring to book all offenders.
He also encouraged the youth to take advantage of the opportunity provided especially with the imminent production of oil and gas in the country laying emphases on local content.
President Mills recognized the challenge the country faced due to the lack of requisite skill by many in the specific field and stressed government's commitment to intensify efforts in supporting members with the necessary facilities to help them impart the knowledge acquired to the up and coming ones.
"There is no reason why people doing the same job to be paid differently.
"It's even more unacceptable if where the distinction or the discrimination is based on nationality; we are not going to allow this in this country." President Mills said.
The President thanked them for the courage shown by the members but also regretted their inability to show up in their working strips and said he might not recognize them if he visited them on the field. |
