Labour unions will cast their ballots in the general elections of 2024 with a hunger and rage, according to Prof. Ransford Gyampo, a lecturer at the University of Ghana and president of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, University of Ghana chapter.
This is in response to a request made by former president John Mahama, who is rerunning for office, asking voters, especially labour and trade associations, to provide him a “honeymoon” time so that appropriate preparations may be made in the event that he wins the 2024 elections.
Prof. Gyampo berated the current leaders for leading luxurious lives, saying that the “honeymoon” appeal would not materialise if this pattern persisted.
He emphasized that labour conditions must be met regardless of who wins the election.
According to him, if the next president reduces luxurious lifestyles, it could lead to labour unions being more supportive.
“Labour will vote based on hunger and anger. Whoever emerges victorious must do something, I’m telling you. If the kind of opulence the politicians of today enjoy or live in is sacrificed or reduced a little, you can meet labour halfway through. And so whoever emerges victorious or winner, if that leader or that person decides that they are not going to go with the route of the present-day leaders, then there will be enough to be saved to meet labour halfway through,” he said in an interview with Joy News.
He suggested the implementation of harsh economic policies intended to reduce the government’s budget deficit affects everyone in the country, including the less privileged.
“Let the austerity measures be implemented such that they affect everybody from the presidency level to the daily-rated employee of the land. Let everyone feel it. If we all are made to go through the austerity measures, then if the leader says tighten your belt and we see the leader has tightened his belt, then we will all follow suit.”
