We Salute Our Gallant Workers

THOUSANDS of unionised workers in Ghana yesterday joined the rest of the world to mark another great day in the lives of the working people; the May Day or Workers Day.

May Day is a day set aside to recognise workers and reward them for their hard work in national development. The day is observed to commemorate the May 4, 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chicago, where four people were killed during a mass protest for an 8-hour working day.

In 1889, the first congress of Second International, an organisation of socialists and labour party, was held in Paris, France, to deliberate on the injustices in the labour market. May Day was subsequently given recognition and in 1904, the International Socialist Congress in Amsterdam, called on all social democratic parties and unionised labour to demonstrate on May 1, for an 8-hour of work in a day, to be legalised .

Locally, trade union activities became prominent in Ghana in the late 40s resulting in the establishment of the Trades Union Congress of Ghana in 1945 which now has 18 affiliates across key sectors of the economy.

Ghana marked the day with a national parade in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, and other mini rallies in all the regional capitals, across the country on the theme "Sustainable Development Goals and Decent Work : The Role of Social Partner."

The TUC says the objective of the theme is to lay emphasis particularly on issues of hunger and food security, health , education and sanitation, gender equality, full productive employment, decent work and guarantee social partners: unions, employers and the government, inclusion in the budgeting that anchors the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into national development.

On this auspicious occasion, the Ghanaian Times urges all social partners working under the auspices of the National Tripartite Committee, to jaw-jaw in the spirit of give-and-take for continuous industrial harmony in the country.

The struggle for better conditions of the working masses, including 8-hour a day's work has come a long way, and that must be sustained to ensure that the working masses benefit from the fruit of their labour, while employers and the government find in the Ghanaian worker a reliable labour force.

We need to remind all social partners that Goal 8 of the SDGs emphasises on sustained inclusive economic growth, full productive employment and decent work for all, which are well-articulated in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and the Labour Act , 2003 (Act 651).

We have no other alternative than to work together as social partners to build an all inclusive economy, under a peaceful industrial environment, to better the lives of Ghanaians.

We say this because the world is looking up to Ghana to provide leadership for the attainment of the key sets of targets in the Agenda 2030(SDGs) for sustainable development.

It is important to remind all that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo co-chairs a group of eminent personalities tasked by the United Nations Secretary General, to raise awareness and galvanise global support for the attainment of the Goals.

Internally, the least we can do is to rally behind the President and work together towards the realisation of the SDGs.

We doff our hats off to the working masses and urge them to continue to work harder for sustainable development.

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