Management of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) says workers have rejected a 22% pay rise refusing to reach a compromise with them.
According to Management, the workers after a series of negotiations led by their union executives, made a demand of 55% salary increment to the Management of VALCO, but offered to grant a 22% increment in salaries for the workers with the assurance of further increment in the future as steps are being taken to retrofit the plant.
A Press Statement issued by management said several persuasion amid the agitations failed as workers remained intransigent and staged a demonstration on Monday, October 31, 2022, refusing some Management Members entry into the facility.
“It must be stated clearly that the workers, after a series of negotiations led by their union executives, made an initial demand of a 62% salary increment to the Management of VALCO, and subsequently reduced it to 55%. In response, the Management of VALCO, offered to grant a 22% increment in salaries for the workers with the assurance of further increment in the future as VALCO continues its efforts in finding a strategic investor to retrofit the plant.
“Management of VALCO appealed to the workers to consider the current state of the Aluminium Smelter which, for years, has been recording losses until the year 2021 where, through prudent management and better supervision, chalked some modest gains recording Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation & Amortization (EBITDA) profits. According to Management, they are hoping to build on this and retrofit and modernize the plant to improve efficiency and increase its capacity.
“Management of VALCO further indicated to the workers union executives that they will on November 1, 2022, finalise a communique for submission to the National Labour Commission (NLC) for independent third-party adjudication in accordance with law after negotiations between Management and the workers ended up in a stalemate.
“However, the workers would have none of this and on October 31, 2022, embarked on a full-blown takeover of the Smelter, insisting they would not allow the Executive Management into the Plant.
Workers Demand to Peg Salaries to the United States Dollar
The statement further noted that the workers during the negotiation demanded that their salaries are pegged to the US dollar.
“The workers, led by their union executives, made this demand during the negotiation period insisting on having their salaries pegged to the US Dollar (USD) as of the last salary adjustment on September 1, 2021, but the parties i.e. management and the workers were unable to reach an agreement and declared a deadlock on Friday, October 28, 2022.
“It is significant to clarify that the salary of the Ghanaian worker is not indexed in the USD but our national currency, the Ghanaian Cedi, thus, the demands from the workers to have their salaries pegged to the USD is untenable and must be disregarded.”
Workers staged a demonstration against the Management of VALCO, calling for better conditions of service and the immediate dismissal of some Management members who they claimed are ‘retirees’.
However, management described as “deliberate and tactful”, the decision for the continuous stay of the purported retirees at the facility.
“They may have attained the retirement age but have not retired yet, as they have been engaged legally on contractual basis, a situation that is not peculiar to VALCO but adopted in special situations by several private and public institutions, especially where the services of such persons are needed in a specialized field,” management explained in its statement.
It however believes a 22% increment in salaries, amidst all the difficulties, should be a good step towards addressing the conditions of service of workers.
