Demo Hits Kotoka

Workers of the Ghana Airports Company (GACL), most of who work at the recently adjudged best airport in Africa, Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, yesterday embarked on a protest march to press home their demands for improved conditions of service.

The about 300 workers who wore red shirts with red arm and head bands were agitating for a 20% increase in their salaries as against management�s decision to give them what they described as a paltry 5%.

Meanwhile, local workers union chairman, one Mr. Okai told the aggrieved workers, �The income is coming in currently are far more than what is contained in the budget.� Addressing a staff durbar, Mr. Okai said, �I have given notice to management that any day any time we meet with the Board, it will be �gawu ganama�.�

�Therefore they can continue making their politics. We are matured in this game and we will play the game to the rules,� he noted when he addressed the workers. He added, �I have told management that if all along, they have been stealing the salary of workers, we don�t know. Somebody now has told us that the lowest paid person must take GH�1,000.�

Under the current provision, he noted, the lowest paid category of workers earn a little over GH�200 and thus asked management to make amends before things got out of hand.

This is what has led to a stalemate between the local workers union chaired by Mr. Okai and management of the GACL, led by Mrs. Doreen Owusu Fianko and its Board which is chaired by Majority Chief Whip in Parliament George Kuntu Blankson. The workers staged the march to let management know how serious they were with their concerns.

Some wielded placards, asking for the resignation or removal of Mrs. Owusu Fianko as the company�s Managing Director, who they accused of having total disregard and disrespect for workers and their opinions.

After holding a durbar which was addressed by the chairman of the local union to fashion out ideas on way forward, the workers decided to, as they put it, inspect some ongoing renovation works being undertaken at the airport for which management had denied them their request of 20% increment in salaries. Their first port of call was the departure hall, baggage/claims collection point and the arrival hall where other workers showed solidarity.

But the otherwise peaceful protest march was nearly marred when the group got to the domestic flights hall of the airport when a female ticketing and reservation officer at the place incurred their wrath.

They lady, who would be in her mid or late 20s, raised her voice at the disgruntled workers for supposedly �shouting� in the hall.

Her comment irritated some of the workers, compelling them to confront her for saying that.In the process, some of workers banged the tables with their hands, thereby attracting attention. All this happened in the presence of passengers who were waiting to board flights to or from various destinations.

It took the timely intervention of leaders of the already angry workers to restore sanity before a team of policemen arrived at the place since some of them said they wanted to �teach her a lesson� for insulting their integrity. A private motorcycle dispatch rider equally had his share of the heckling when he drove through the protesters.

After that, leaders of the local union went to lodge a formal complaint with the Labour Commission to help resolve the impasse.

They have however threatened to face management of the company and its Board boot for boot whenever they availed themselves as they had always sought to give flimsy excuses for not showing up at staff durbar.