TUC clarifies threat of ‘legal action’ over ECG privatisation

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has made clear that its threat to employ "all legal action" to resist the proposed private sector involvement (PSP) in the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) does not automatically imply a court battle. Dr. Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, asserts that the union's mention of legal action encompasses conventional industrial relations resources available to organized labor.

His remarks come as tensions escalate between the TUC and the government regarding the proposed private sector participation in ECG, with the union asserting that the plan constitutes privatization and vowing to utilize legal measures to prevent World Bank-supported ECG privatization. "However, I want to clarify that when we refer to using all legal methods, we are actually talking about the traditional tools typically associated with unions," he elaborates.

According to him, these methods are integral parts of the established industrial relations systems accessible to organized labor. He emphasized that the TUC is not primarily aiming for a courtroom confrontation with the government but is willing to employ the legitimate mechanisms at their disposal to support its stance on the proposed ECG PSP.

"The TUC is not in the business of going to court to compel government to act in a certain way. Our traditional industrial relations tools, everybody knows," he added.