TRADE UNION CONGRESS CAUTIONS PURC (PAGE 22, JULY 6, 2010)

THE Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has cautioned the government and the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) to review the recent increases in utility tariffs.
According to the leadership of the GTUC, it will not hesitate to mobilise its members to embark on a massive nationwide street protest against the recent increases in the utility tariffs announced by the PURC on June 13, 2010.
Already, the leadership of GTUC has called on workers across Ghana to wear red arm bands, and hoist red flags in protest against the increases in tariffs.
Addressing members of organised labour in the Bolgatanga Municipality, the Deputy General Secretary, General Agricultural Workers Union, Mr Edward Kareweh said the GTUC was not totally against the increment, but furious at the huge margin announced by the PURC.
He said the recent increments did not have any correlation between prices and incomes, and added that not even the 10 per cent increases in salaries would make up for the huge tariffs being charged by the utility providers.
Mr Kareweh also said the lifeline proposed by government was a mirage in that the poor in society were unable to assess it.
“Many poor people in this country live in compound houses and do not have their own meters, so collectively feed into one meter and their consumption shoot up beyond the lifeline threshold,” in the estimation of Mr Kareweh, “What the utility providers can do is to map out all compound houses and provide occupants with separate meters to enable them to enjoy the lifeline threshold announced by the government”. “We want subsidies that are target based so that the import can be measured and not an omnibus one”, he said.