The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), Ghana, and the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) of TUC (Ghana) are calling for the immediate reversal of salary cuts imposed on COCOBOD staff.
In a joint statement, General Secretaries Morgan Ayawine (ICU) and Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe (GAWU) acknowledged that while the cuts were intended to ease COCOBOD’s financial strain, the move was executed improperly. They argue that management bypassed essential legal protocols, violating both national labour laws and established collective bargaining agreements.
The statement said the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) and the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) expressed strong support for the government’s recent efforts to overhaul the cocoa sector.
While acknowledging the deteriorating state of COCOBOD and PBC, the unions described the new reforms as economically prudent measures that align with their long-standing advocacy for the industry’s survival, especially the new financing model that will enable COCOBOD to allocate 50 percent of the total cocoa produced in Ghana to CPC and other local processing companies for local processing.
This initiative is expected to promote value addition and job creation, thereby benefiting the large number of unemployed youth in the country.
In addition, the offloading of COCOBOD’s legacy debt to the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana, as well as the automatic adjustment of producer prices to align with movements in world market prices, exchange rates, and other key variables, will have a monumental and positive impact on COCOBOD’s operations and the national economy at large.
The unions said these measures resonate strongly with the position and representations of ICU-Ghana and GAWU of TUC (Ghana) to government regarding the financial and operational challenges facing COCOBOD and PBC, which the unions have consistently advocated since last year, as these interventions will give COCOBOD and PBC a new lease of life and the impetus needed to deliver on their mandate to stabilise and transform the cocoa industry in Ghana.
Whilst commending government for the timely intervention to save COCOBOD, PBC, and ultimately the cocoa industry in Ghana, the unions vehemently oppose the decision to reduce the salaries of senior and management staff of COCOBOD by 10 and 20 percent, as this may adversely affect staff morale and negatively impact productivity.
The unions are therefore demanding a reversal of the decision and engagement with the unions on the way forward.
It said moving forward, management of COCOBOD, its units, and other stakeholders in the cocoa industry must play their respective roles effectively to sustain the growth and development of the cocoa industry.
It must also create structures and systems that will insulate COCOBOD from external pressures and partisan politics if we are fully committed to ensuring the survival and sustainability of the cocoa industry.
The statement concluded by expressing full confidence in the COCOBOD workforce to achieve these new objectives, provided their labour rights and compensation are respected.
