Workers of the Newmont Akyem Gold Mining Company are planning an indefinite strike to back their demand for immediate increment in their salaries and allowances.
The workers say there is a stalemate between Newmont Ghana Gold Limited and Ghana Mine Workers Union over a protracted salary and the collective bargaining agreement review, which started in February 2014.
However, a representative of the Management told the GNA that they were willing to negotiate a deal in the mutual interest of all stakeholders.
The National Chairman of the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union, Mr Kwarko Mensah Gyakari, addressing a media conference, organised by the workers of the Newmont Akyem Project, at New Abirim, appealed to the leadership of the Union to permit them to embark on an industrial action.
He said the Management of Newmont Akyem Project had refused to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed upon at the end of their negotiation last year.
He said both parties agreed on a 10 per cent salary increase for 2014 and 4.6 per cent for this year, including rent, leave travels subsidy and the workers’ children school fees allowances, but the mining company had failed to implement them to relieve the workers from numerous hardships they were facing.
Mr Gyakari said, the workers of the Newmont Akyem Project were the lowest paid mining workers in the country.
He advised the workers to be patient as the union would soon give the go ahead to embark on their industrial action to back their demand if all efforts failed to materialise on their salary review agreement.
The workers urged the leadership of the union to allow the Management of Newmont Akyem Project to implement the “Agenda 500” where the least paid staff of the company should not earn less than 500 dollars in cedi equivalent month.
When the management of Newmont Akyem Project was contacted, the External Relations Manager of the Company, Mr Oduro Kwarteng-Marfo, said Newmont Ghana was calling for cooperation from their employees and the Ghana Mine Workers Union to help reach a mutually beneficial, equitable and economically sustainable labour agreement.
He said the mining company was willing to continue negotiations with the union to protect the interest of the workers through the long term sustainable operations and creation of shared values for all their stakeholders.
Mr Oduro stated that, despite the challenging conditions facing mining companies in the country , it was the company’s desire to conclude the negotiations as soon as possible to enable the company to focus on safely managing the business and sustaining the livelihoods of the employees and the host communities.
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