Over 10,000 public sector workers are expected to hit the streets of Accra Wednesday, January 20, to protest high taxes and tariffs recently introduced by the government of Ghana. Labor organizations including the Trades Union Congress (TUC) are asking their 500,000 members to turn up to express disapproval.
Sources say there will be simultaneous protests around all the other 9 regional capitals in the country.
The protest was announced following government’s decision to introduce new utility and fuel tax hikes.
A spokesperson from TUC said the government is ,“insensitive to the plight of the Ghanaian worker”.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the TUC, Kofi Asamoah, says they do not expect the protest to be hijacked by any political Party. He said the protesting workers cut across Party political lines and, therefore, it would be inappropriate to make it a “political matter”.
In a related development, Employment and Labor Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has said the workers are free to protest and have nothing to fear.
“The government has been duly informed about the demonstration and will respect the democratic right of the protesters since they have showed a respect to the labor laws of this nation,"Minister Iddrisu said during a local interview.