TUC to embark on route-march to mark May Day
The Trades Union Congress of Ghana (TUC-Ghana) on Monday disclosed that as part of the activities to mark the 2019 May Day event, its members will embark on a route march across some principal streets of Accra.
About 10,000 workers from 32 Workers’ groups are expected to participate in the march.
The May Day Route March will start from the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle through the Farisco, TUC Head Office, the National Theatre to the Independence Square and will also be used as educational and sensitization campaign platform to educate the masses to secure their pensions.
Mr Joshua Ansah, the Deputy Secretary General of the TUC in an interview with the Ghana News Agency ahead of the workers day celebration on Wednesday May 1, said the march would be organised with the purpose of sensitizing the public on the need to ensure the payment of their Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions.
He said all over the world, the commemoration of the day took a new trend, which made members of the organised labour to gather at a particular spot and process through town with placards meeting at a final destination for the climax.
He said the 2019 May Day would be celebrated on the theme: “Sustainable Pension for All: The Role of Social Partners”, which called for the need to create more awareness for workers to prioritise their pensions while they worked.
He said the TUC over the years was doing the march past at various locations, where the President and TUC Secretary General would address them, but “this year we have reviewed the process.
“We seek to use the route march to send a stronger signal to the public about the need to secure their future through the pension scheme. We intend to reach a higher number of the general public with the peaceful procession through some principal streets”.
Mr Ansah said the Organised Labour was determined to ensure that everybody had a feel of the May Day celebration “as we march peacefully with usual placards to sensitise the public”.
The Deputy Secretary General said the march was not intended for any diabolical ambition, but to increase awareness on SSNIT contributions.
He noted that everybody in the country was either a formal or informal worker adding that pension would catch up with everyone one day, which called for the need to sustain pension scheme in the country.
In a related interview with Mr John Amegashie, the Chairman of the 2019 National May Day Committee said, there was the need for every worker to take his or her pension seriously.
Mr Amegashie, who is also the President of Union of Industry Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF) said the march was relevant to burn some calories of workers and urged both formal and informal workers to come out to join them.
Source: GNA