ZOOMLION WORRIED ABOUT WORKERS' STRIKE (PAGE 29)

THE management of the Zoomlion Ghana Limited in Tamale has expressed its disappointment with the recent strike embarked upon by workers employed under the sanitation module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
It contended that although the workers had genuine concerns regarding inadequate allowances paid to them, such demands should have been placed at the doorstep of the NYEP authorities rather than blaming the company for any lapses.
The Northern Regional Manager of the Zoomlion, Mr Prince Alhassan, told the Daily Graphic that the management held four meetings with the workers to explain issues to them but that did not yield any fruitful results.
According to him, the concerns of the workers had already been communicated to the NYEP in Accra before the workers decided to lay down their tools.
Last week, some workers, most of whom were refuse collection tricycle riders, embarked on a strike to protest against the meagre allowances paid to them.
They further alleged that Zoomlion was responsible for their predicament and said the company had reneged on its promises to workers such as the regularisation of their employment under the Ministry of Health and the payment of their social security contributions.
Mr Alhassan, however, conceded that their monthly allowances of GH¢50 was inadequate but said they only worked for a maximum of three hours a day.
He maintained that Zoomlion was not responsible for the payment of those employed under the sanitation component of the NYEP.
“We believe in work and happiness and I must emphasise that management has been sending their concerns to the NYEP in Accra. I, therefore, entreat them to exercise restraint while their concerns are being addressed” he said.
He further indicated that in spite of the current problems the company was facing with regard to the strike of the workers, the company was poised to achieve its primary objective of managing waste in the metropolis.
Mr Alhassan said management had procured equipment to complete a landfill site project at Gbalahi, a suburb of Tamale, by the end of this year.
The manager said 700 tricycles, 70 motorised tricycles and 17 trucks were being used to help manage waste in the metropolis.
Zoomlion Ghana Limited started operating in the metropolis in October 2006 and has been complementing the efforts of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) to manage waste in the metropolis.
TAMA spends on the average GH¢800,000 every year to manage waste in the metropolis.