THE Ghanaian worker will not tolerate hardship from measures likely to be imposed on the government by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, has warned
He said workers in Ghana have their reservations about the decision of government to take the country back to the IMF for bailout.
Drawing a parallel between an IMF bailout and a police bail for offenders, he said the two share similarities, adding that "you may have to agree to anything or remain where you are."
Mr Asamoah made the observation when he addressed members of the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) at the launch of their 70th anniversary at Tarkwa recently.
"We have our reservation as workers of Ghana concerning the government going to the IMF for bailout, but even if we say they shouldn't go, nobody would listen to us. They will do whatever they please.
"But I hope when they go to Washington to meet the IMF officials they will negotiate well because we would not tolerate anything that would bring hardship on us," the TUC boss intimated.
He went on: "You don�t beat me and ask me not to cry. Breaking down emotionally is only a natural process to excruciating pain and the Ghanaian worker cannot, and would not, suffer in silence.�
He said even though the TUC has decided to wait for the outcome of whatever programme the IMF would present to Ghana, previous experiences have clearly shown that the IMF programmes have never changed the economic circumstance of countries rushing to them for bailout, adding �that explains why everybody is pessimistic.�
He said the last time Ghana revisited the IMF to access financial aid was in 2009 under the administration of President John Evans Atta Mills and, among other things, the government was asked to stop any further recruitment into public sector institutions or risk being sanctioned.
�We are living witnesses as to how that programme impacted on us. So why on earth must we return to the IMF when the writing is already on the wall that the programmes are anti-progressive?�
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