The arrogance and disrespect for union leaders by the NPP government; a cause for worry

I wish to commence this article by recalling the words of Casely-Hayford, “it must be recognized that cooperation is the greatest word of the century. With co-operation, we can command peace, goodwill, and concord. Without it, chaos, confusion, and ruin. But there can really be no co-operation between inferiors and superiors. Try as they may, there must come a time when the elements of superiority will seek to dictate, and the inferior ones will resent such dictation. It logically follows, therefore, that unless an honest effort is made to raise inferior up to the prestige of the superior, and the latter pan suffers it, all our talk of co-operation is so much empty.”

The incident that happened yesterday between the education minister, the labor minister, and the various workers union leaders can better be described as arrogance, disrespect, and the unwillingness on the part of the government to co-operate with the leadership of the various unions. The government’s penchant for grossly underrating public sector workers is worrying and must be nib in the bud.

The walk-out staged by the other union leaders in solidarity with the teacher unions proves the government’s long-held perception of union leaders wrong. The NPP government believes in divide and rule, which has been their hallmark. They wanted to do that yesterday. Unfortunately, the various union leaders were smart enough to prove them wrong. Indeed, yesterday’s incident was commensurate with the government’s arrogance and disrespect for union leaders. I wish to use this opportunity to commend the various union leaders for that bold decision they took. It is therefore incumbent on them to remain united to fight this battle. It is legitimate and the timing is appropriate. Our elders say that when spider webs unite, they tie up a lion. You must not allow yourselves to be divided as long as you are in this struggle.

We are watching with Eagle's eyes the increasing level of arrogance and gross disrespect for our union leaders by this government. This is very worrying to us the members. What at all have we done wrong to warrant this? The Nana Addo-led government has consistently demonstrated disrespect and dislike for union leaders, particularly the teacher unions. This posturing of the government must be condemned in all uncertain terms.

Not quite long ago, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in interaction with teacher union leaders told the whole world that teachers cannot be millionaires unless they find other jobs attach to teaching. How can a whole president say this in open camera?

Having told teachers the above statement, the government went on to give 4% and 7% salary increment for 2021 and 2022 respectively, and continue to shift blames on COVID-19. Meanwhile, the salary increment of the president was at about 90% and his appointees got about 70%. It has since been difficult to reconcile the two reasons that COVID-19 could affect the salary of teachers and other workers but spared that of the president and his appointees.

The last time teachers went on strike under this government, they used the court to secure an injunction to compel the teachers to get back to the classroom. These are some of the things that give this government the temerity to think that they can continue to underrate teachers.

The various unions’ leaders have the power to stump out the element of wanton disregard for teachers by this government. Union leaders must spare no effort of theirs to sing from one hymn book as they fight this battle. The insensitivity of this government towards workers’ plight is so glaring. Leadership should resolve to remain resolute and firm as they deal with this callous and indifferent government.

Let me conclude by calling on all members of these unions to rally their unflinching support for leadership to successfully wage war against the blatant disregard this government continues to unleash on us. We should look up to them for directives on the next line of action.