Still war of words over union rights at ACS

From all indications the management of Affiliated Computer Systems, (ACS-BPS (GH) Limited), a United States data processing company has vowed not to allow employees of the company to unionize to enable them negotiate for better conditions of service.Even though the Financial and Business Services Employees Union, (FBSEU), a national trade union affiliated to Ghana Federation of Labour, (GFL) has in compliance with due process secured a Collective Bargaining Certificate, (CBC) for the unionized staff of ACS, the company’s (ACS) management has flatly refused to allow the union to meet with its members. Consequently, the GFL has lodged a complaint with the National Labour Commission, (NLC) against ACS over what it described as unfair labour practice. The GFL complained that since June 16th 2006, when the National Labour Department, (NLD) issued a Collective Bargaining Certificate to its affiliate FBSEU, the ACS management has adopted certain tactics to frustrate their efforts at meeting with interested employees to elect substantive local union officers. When the FBSEU in the process of confirming the local representatives of the union wrote to ACS management, in conformity with section 129 of the Labour Act 651 to hold a meeting with the unionized employees on August 9th 2006 management refused. Sub-section one of section 129 of the Act states, “An employer shall subject to notice of not less than twenty-four hours, allow any officer of a trade union whose members include any of his or her workers, reasonable facilities and time to confer with the employer or workers on matters affecting the members of the trade union who are his or her workers and an employer who fails to give reasonable facilities and time is guilty of unfair labour practice.”It continues under subsection two that, “In this section ‘reasonable facilities’ means such facilities as the employer and his or her workers may agree are reasonably required for the purposes stated in subsection one.” The GFL says it considers the stance of ACS management unusual and blatantly contravenes the act that facilitated the establishment of the ACS Company and denies workers their rights in violation of national and universal agreements. Rather, the management of ACS pasted notices on its premises asking workers to take advantage of management’s offer of special packages to resign from the company latest by 29th July 2006 in contravention of Section 65 (redundancy) of the Labour Act. Subsection one of section 65 states, “When an employer contemplates the introduction of major changes in production, programme, organisation, structure or technology of an undertaking that are likely to entail terminations of employment of workers in the undertaking, the employee shall, (a) provide in writing to the Chief Labour Officer and the trade union concerned, not later that three months before the contemplated changes, all relevant information including the reasons for any termination, the number and categories of workers likely to be affected and the period within which any termination is to be carried out and (b) consult the trade union concerned on measures to be taken to avert or minimize the terminations as well as measures to mitigate the adverse effects of any terminations on the workers concerned such as finding alternative employment. Public Agenda was told that the Ghanaian management of the company has on several occasions been confronted by some labour activists over its violation of the labour act due to its entrenched management style. There have also been a series of meetings between ACS and GFL at the National Labour Department and the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment presided over by Deputy Minister Dr. Charles Brempong-Yeboah aimed at addressing the apprehension of the ACS management about the unionization of the employees. Investigations by Public Agenda have revealed that the entrenched position of the ACS management could be attributed to backing of the company from prominent people in government. ACS workers’ fight for an association began about five years ago. Immediately, the Ghanaian management of ACS threatened to fold up and relocate to another country. But when this reporter contacted the management of ACS, they denied the allegation. The Human Resource Director, Miss Vida Botwe said the company is not against unionization. “They have every right to form a union. We cannot prevent anybody from joining a union”, she stressed. Early this month ACS sponsored a half page advertisers announcement in the Daily Graphic of Tuesday August 1 in which it took a swipe at this newspaper for pursuing the workers’ right to join a union.