Organised labour has asked the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to suspend the implementation of any new tariff until there is some stability in the supply of power.
It further asked the PURC to reduce the proposed increases in electricity and water tariffs.
A statement jointly signed by leaders of eight labour organisations, also asked the PURC to compel the utility companies to reduce their technical and operational inefficiencies as the condition for tariff review.
The PURC last Monday announced a 59.2 per cent increase in electricity tariff across the board and between 69 and 89.8 per cent increase in water tariff.
Organised labour’s statement said its position was that the PURC should have first considered the availability and reliability of power before a review of tariffs.
“We maintain that it is only when the people of Ghana, including workers in both formal and informal sectors of the economy, are sure of a reliable supply of power and water that they can be convinced to pay higher tariffs,” it said.
The statement, dated December 9, 2015, was jointly signed by the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, and representatives of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).
The statement said Ghanaian consumers were already paying heavily for the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi and high inflation, and indicated that real wages had fallen drastically, especially since 2012. It said organised labour had been following the debate and discussions in the media since the announcement of the newly approved tariffs.
“The people of Ghana are still doubting whether these tariff increases are going to solve the ‘dumsor’, as the utility providers would like us to believe,” it queried.
The statement said following organised labour’s consultations with the PURC, it did not expect any increase in tariffs beyond 50 per cent as against the 129 to 400 per cent proposed by the utility companies, on condition that power supply would have stabilised.
Besides, it said, organised labour expected the implementation of any new tariffs to start next year. “As workers we are worried about the ever increasing utility tariffs which do not match the rate of increase in incomes.
“We are also concerned about the poor macro-economic performance and the technical and operational inefficiencies of the utility companies which have contributed greatly to the frequent hikes in tariffs,” it said.
Source: Graphic