The labour union said they will protest since the government has refused to listen to their advice on the debt exchange programme.
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Organised labour declares strike over debt exchange programme
Organised labour in the country has declared an indefinite strike from Tuesday, December 27, 2022.
Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah with Nana Addo
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The spokesperson Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah, who doubles as the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), said the government has turned a deaf ear to their request to have pensions of workers exempt from the programme.
This comes following the government's move to rely on a softer payment plan with institutions and individuals who have lent money to the country as part of efforts to reduce the burden the public debt stock puts on the economy.
The plan, which is in line with the government's commitment to restore macroeconomic stability in the shortest possible time, involves the swapping of existing domestic bonds with longer-dated bonds that will take between four and 14 years to mature in 2037.
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Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta announcing the programme said Ghana is facing a very challenging economic situation amid an increasingly difficult global economic environment, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economic shock created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and disruptions of the global supply chains.
He said for the government to alleviate the debt burden in the most transparent, efficient, and expedited manner, treatment of domestic debt is necessary adding that the invitation does not entail any reduction in the principal amount (haircut) of the eligible bonds which involves an exchange for a new government of Ghana bonds with a 0% coupon in 2023 that steps up to 5% in 2024, and 10% from 2025 onwards.
But the organised labour said the government doesn't want to heed their advice.
Dr. Yaw Baah said: "We are asking the government to exempt us from the debt exchange programme."
"We have already told the world that if the government doesn't do that, we will advise ourselves. Today, we are here to announce the advice.
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"The advice is very simple. We have all agreed that because the government has refused to grant our request, we have decided firmly that all workers of Ghana are going to strike on December 27, 2022, and we will be on strike until our demands are met," he stated.
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