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Some construction companies working in various parts of the country have laid off more than 3,000 workers for reasons tied to the conditionalities being imposed on Ghana by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mr. Richard Asamoah – Mensah, General Secretary of the Construction and Building Materials Workers Union of TUC Ghana, alleged that government has communicated to these companies that it will not honour payment for work done.
“Synohydro, the company working on the Takoradi Interchange, called us into a meeting today and told us of the decision to lay off workers. They explained that government has communicated to them that they won’t be honoring payments for work done because of the IMF deal the country is about signing,” Mr Asamoah said.
He said this has forced the companies to suspend works being done currently, and have begun asking some workers to go home.
According to him, Contracta, the company working on the Takoradi market circle, has laid off 121 workers in Takoradi; 339 workers in Kumasi.
Sinohydro, has laid off 453 workers in Takoradi, 109 workers in Sunyani; and 223 workers in Kumasi.
In the rail sector, Via Build has laid off 41 workers in Takoradi, with Amandi laying off 1500 throughout the whole country. Rolider has also laid off 359 from their operation sites throughout the country.
“This is just to mention a few. Can you just imagine what is happening in the Construction industry? We pray that God should have mercy on us else,” he told JoyNews.
