The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU)-Ghana has strongly opposed the proposed sale of a majority stake in the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), describing the move as a threat to Ghana’s strategic national interests, job security and industrialisation drive.
The union said any attempt to transfer a controlling stake in VALCO to a private investor under the guise of equity investment would deprive Ghanaians of ownership of a key national asset.
Addressing members during a peaceful protest in Tema yesterday, the General Secretary of the ICU, Mr Morgan Ayawine, said the company had made significant operational gains in recent years through the sacrifices of the state, management, board and workers, making the proposed transaction unjustifiable.
Protesters, wielding placards with inscriptions such as “VALCO is not for sale,” “Mr President, your people are not telling you the truth,” and “GIADEC CEO is a shady dealer,” marched from the VALCO Club House in Community Four through the frontage of TDC Ghana Limited, past the Tema Polyclinic and along some principal streets of Tema. The demonstration, which was heavily policed, ended at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.
At the assembly, the group presented a petition to the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Ms Ebi Bright, to be forwarded to President John Dramani Mahama.
Mr Ayawine said credible information available to the union indicated that the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) intended to release a 70 per cent equity stake in VALCO to Arch Holdings Consortium, a move he said would effectively hand over the management and operations of the company to a private investor.
He warned that such a decision could lead to job losses, a decline in workers’ welfare and financial losses to the state.
The union argued that government must not allow what it described as the narrow interests of a few individuals to override the national interest, stressing that the gains made by VALCO should not be surrendered to private interests after years of public investment.
It further noted that government, management, the board and labour had worked together to restore the company to operational stability and growth, adding that the proposed transaction would undermine Ghana’s Integrated Aluminium Industry and compromise long-term economic interests.
Appealing directly to President Mahama, the ICU recalled his May Day address in Koforidua, where he urged organised labour to speak out against the mismanagement of state-owned enterprises.
In line with that call, the union said it was urging the President to intervene decisively to halt the proposed sale and ensure that VALCO remained under the ownership and control of the people of Ghana.
The ICU cautioned that if its concerns were not addressed promptly, it would consult its structures and determine its next line of action, which could assume a national dimension in defence of VALCO and its workforce.
The union also appealed to organised labour, civil society organisations, professional bodies and the general public to support efforts to keep VALCO under state ownership to safeguard jobs and promote national industrial development.
Further checks indicate that the petition contains strong objections to the proposed sale of a 70 per cent stake in VALCO to Arch Holdings Consortium, with the ICU arguing that the transaction would permanently alter the ownership and control of the strategic asset.
The petition also highlighted the company’s operational progress under its current board and management, citing a structured five-year optimisation programme aimed at improving efficiency, expanding production capacity and strengthening workforce development.
It therefore appealed to President Mahama to halt the proposed transaction, insisting that continued state ownership of VALCO was in the long-term interest of Ghana and necessary to protect jobs, industrial peace and the country’s Integrated Aluminium Industry.
FROM KEN AFEDZI, TEMA
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