Ghanaian Workers Been Pampered For Far Too Long

Workers in Ghana, since Independence, have had both their say and way; they have held all the successive Governments to ransom. The only time they were told and shown where power lies, was with the military despot. In 1992, in a referendum, we accepted that democracy was the way forward for us, among the dividends is for; at the turn of every four years put our manifest destiny in the hands of people we duly elect to lead us. We trust them to manage our resources for the benefit of all. The day that we lose fate in the ability and capacity of our leaders, is the day this country will cease to exist as a sovereign nation. In the early eighties when the workers in the United Kingdom embarked on strike action under the leadership of the late Margret Thatcher, in the Labour party regime, she asked their leaders to pay their salaries. This must be replicated here to serve as a deterrent to the strike happy workers of this country. We at The Herald, will be the first to admit that some of our politicians have let us down, they have not reciprocated the trust we have in them, but that is not an excuse for us to throw our hands in despair. We are all quick to blame politicians for our woes, yet politicians come and go after every four years, the only people who stay after them are the public and civil servants. So, before they go about castigating the Government, they should also know that the people of Ghana have also lost fate in them. Since when has grown ups run out of options, since when did we cease to see talking as a means to solving problems? Why is it that anytime public workers in this country disagree with Government, they only resort to strike action as a means of pressing home their demands. It is no longer fashionable; it has become so outmoded that it is easy to predict their everyday move. The ongoing strike action by twelve labour unions, is one such unnecessary and useless, how well can leaders represent their constituents, when the only tool available to them is strike. They are elected to fight for the interest of their peoples, laying down tools will not solve any problem, it will only aggravate and prolong issues, they (the leaders), must also begin to behave responsibly. Government has said that the Tier Two Pension money is available; it is your money, so why not meet government half way, so that you can have your money. Because everything in this country is reduced to politics, workers will always have a safe haven with the opposition, for as long as that continues, we are all at their mercy. If this country must develop and the economy expanded, for workers to get their fair share of the national cake, strike actions must not be the way to go. This country is the only country we have; it is our collective effort and commitment that will move it forward.