In anticipation of this year’s global worker’s day celebration commonly known as May Day, Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) on April 19, 2018 held a symposium focus on the theme – “Sustainable Development Goals and Decent Work; the Role of Social Partners”.

The guest speaker, Professor William Baah-Boateng, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, touched on some vital labour related issues and the importance of formalization. He spoke about the four pillars as far as decent work is concerned which are employment generation, social protection, right at work and social dialogue. He also asked industry player to avoid exploiting labor.

In the wake of unemployment cries by some individuals especially graduates who have formed graduate unemployment groups, Prof Baah-Boateng clarified what unemployment really means, saying, “unemployment is about somebody who does not have a job, is available for work and more importantly is making efforts to look for work,,,,,,,,,, so if you are not looking for work, you cannot be considered as unemployed”.

Responding to a distress comment on taxes, he said “getting more revenue doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to raise tax and tax everything, we can come up with policies that would encourage more people to pay taxes rather than raising it to get the few people that are paying it to run away.”

The Secretary General of TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah expressed displeasure in the interest rates charged on loans by the banks. He then commended the bank of Ghana for the measures they are putting in place to reduce interest rates to as low as 16%.

The TMA boss, Hon. Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, a union man himself, used the opportunity to divulge plans to install streetlights on every street in the metropolis for security and lively purposes. He also spoke about sanitation which is one of the biggest challenges in the metropolis.

The Mayor also appealed to the gathering to handle the sanitation problem individually in their homes and not only at the top level of the union. Hon Nii Anang-La further hinted that Tema industrial area and Manhean roads will soon have a facelift to facilitate productivity.

“Together with my regional minister and the MP, we have pushed also for the Tema Newtown roads which is about 9.2 kilometers and as we are talking now, they have approved 6.2 which the contract is still under documentation. Very soon we will hit Newtown with more asphalt roads” he said.

Other topics discussed were the need to belong to a union and the inability of workers to complain or voice out their displeasures at the workplace for fear of losing their jobs.

Some other dignitaries at the event were the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon Ishmael Ashitey, and Frederick Ebow Quansah, the first vice national chairman of MDU.