This paper has gathered that the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Kofi Osei Ameyaw and other senior management members could be cited for contempt after failing to meet Union in a crucial meeting slated for Wednesday 14th of January 2020 and report to the National Labour Commission (NLC) as directed in the decision of 23rd December 2020 after the NLA Unionized workers represented by the Financial and Business Workers Union (FBSEU) had petitioned the National Labour Commission (NLC)
The Financial and Business Workers Union, which represents the interest of hundreds of NLA employees who want to be unionized , has dragged the NLA boss to the NLC to compel them to discuss and adopt a Constitution of a Standing Negotiating Committee (SNC) to be constituted under Section 101 of the Labour Act (2003) Act 651.
Documents sighted by this paper have confirmed that FBSEU, which represents the interest of the NLA workers, is unhappy with the deliberate delay tactics adopted by the NLA boss in a bid to frustrate the process- constitution of the Standing Negotiating Committee as directed by the NLC on the 24th of April 2019
In a letter dated January 11, 2020 and addressed to the NLA Director General , the FBSEU said: “ It will be recalled that at the much anticipated meeting held on the 2 nd of January , 2020, the union made its position clear that, the agenda for the meeting was to adopt a Constitution of a Standing Negotiating Committee SNC which has been unduly delayed for nine months but management refused to comply with the directive of the Commission and rather requested the Chief Labour Officer to work on a so-called overlap in collective bargaining certificates which is known to management.”
According to our sources, the workers are likely to trigger a contempt clause in the Labour Act against Mr Osei Ameyaw if he fails to comply with the latest decision issued on the 23rd of December 2019 to bring to finality the much delayed Unionisation process.
The NLA has been playing “hide and seek” with the workers with regards to the unionization process over the period and they are now fed up and ready to hit streets if the alleged intimidation by the NLA boss against those in favour of a union continues.
It will be recalled that Financial and Business Workers Union has petitioned the National Labour
Commission (NLC) to call the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Kofi Osei
Ameyaw to order, alleging that the latter is intimidating unionized staff at the state institution.
This latest decision though unfortunate has been necessitated by some decisions and actions been taken against some of our Unionized members by the Director-General of the National
Lottery Authority to dismember our Union in favour of their preferred Union (ICU)” the renowned labour group stated in a letter dated December 16, 2019 and addressed to the NLC.
The labour group further alleged that the management of the National Lottery Authority led by
Mr. Kofi Osei Ameyaw has engaged various acts of intimidation, threats of dismissals and mass transfers of all the unionized members in Leadership and other acts of altering the employment status of some workers to induce them to refrain from becoming members our union.
“It is on record that immediately after the National Labour Commission gave the Directive on the 24th of April 2019 to both the Union and the management of NLA to engage and finalise the Process leading to the signing of the SNC Constitution, the management of NLA directed some Executives of the welfare including the Chairman Anthony Twumasi-Oti, the Secretary
Beatrice Tsahay, George Osei Akoto, and Oswald Awunor to embark on an outreach program
/campaign throughout the various regional branches to force the already unionized workers to join the ICU,” it further alleged.
According to the group, the decision and actions by the Management of the NLA to interfere in any unionization process and more importantly with a financial support for what has been termed sensitization outreach program and was started on Thursday the 12th of December 2019 from Sunyani, Sewhi Dwenasi and Friday the 13th of December in Kumasi constitute an unfair labour practice and in contravention of Sections 127 and 128 of the Labour ACT 2003
(ACT651)
