Tag Archives: Ghana Federation of Labour

Speaker Bagbin must stand by his decision to save Ghana from being sold by NPP – Abraham Koomson

The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has urged Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to uphold his decision regarding the four vacant parliamentary seats.

Mr. Koomson warns that reversing the ruling could shift the majority to the NPP, which he argues would not benefit the country, as he believes the NPP has previously exploited its numbers for self-serving purposes.

Abraham Koomson, Secretary -General, GFL

In an interview on Ahotor FM, Mr. Koomson stated that an NDC majority in Parliament would better serve Ghana’s interests as the 2024 elections approach.

He called for calm amid ongoing tensions between the Supreme Court and Parliament over the vacant seats, which recently led to an adjournment of parliamentary proceedings.

On October 18, the Supreme Court directed Parliament to allow the four MPs to retain their seats until it resolved the case.

The Apex Court this overturned the Speaker’s October 17 declaration that had marked the seats as vacant. The lawmakers in question include:

  1. Cynthia Morrison, NPP MP for Agona West, Central Region, running as an independent.
  2. Kwadwo Asante, NPP MP for Suhum, Eastern Region, also running independently.
  3. Andrew Asiamah Amoako, independent MP for Fomena, Ashanti Region, now standing as an NPP candidate.
  4. Peter Kwakye Ackah, NDC MP for Amenfi Central.

This development follows a petition from former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, who invoked Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, stating that lawmakers must vacate their seats if they depart from the party under which they were elected.

Abraham Koomson emphasized that maintaining an NDC majority would serve the national interest and urged Speaker Bagbin to stand firm in his decision.

VAT on Electricity: GFL disappointed at Organised Labour’s U-turn on demo

The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has expressed disappointment over the decision of Organised Labour to suspended its planned demonstration over the 15 percent Value Added Tax  (VAT) on Electricity.

Organised Labour had announced February 13, 2024 as the date for the street protest which was scheduled to take place in all the regional capitals but on Friday, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, announced the suspension of the impending demonstration.

Reacting to the news, the Secretary-General of GFL, Mr Abraham Koomson, said Organised Labour had betrayed some of its members with the suspension of the protest which could have sent a strong signal to the government to withdraw the tax policy.

“We are disappointed at how things are unfolding…Organised Labour looks more disorganised. We are not properly organised,” he told Akora Kofi Darko on TV XYZ News Friday.

Mr. Koomson said he did not know what happened to the initial plans of protesting despite an announcement from the government that it had suspended the policy for further stakeholder engagement.

He said the demonstration would have forced the government to withdraw the tax policy completely.

“I don’t know what happened. The taxes are plenty and they are collapsing businesses. We are paying about 18 different taxes, including ‘borla taxes’… the protest would have piled pressure on government to act,” Mr Koomson stated and added that he suspects some elements in government have been able to compromise the leadership of the labour group.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, at a press conference in Accra emphasized their commitment to advocating against what he termed “unfavourable tax policies.”

 

Source: Myxyzonline.com