By Jack Adom
The exemplary relationship between AngloGold Ashanti and the Ghana Mine Workers Union did not happen by chance; it is the result of years of fruitful engagement.
The biggest questions is -? trade unions are supposed defend their members by fortifying excising jobs; creating more and negotiating? better conditions of service ;? but why is the Ghana Mine Workers union supporting retrenchment of its members at the obuasi mine, once the biggest employer after the civil service?
?We have successfully negotiated with AngloGold Ashanti the restructuring exercise and the most important thing is that workers are happy with the retrenchment offer. Besides, they will be also be paid their provident fund and golden handshake?,
Speaking at the recent AngloGold Ashanti ?business and stakeholder? meeting in Accra, Prince William Ankrah, Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union, explained that given the complex challenges facing the Obuasi operation, the union leadership and the workers have no option other than to agree with the company on the care and maintenance option.?? ?The choice was between, either opting for the care and maintenance or to wait for the mine to collapse on us?, Mr Ankrah said.
He said the unions and the company are taking both current and ex-workers through entrepreneurial training to create more awareness on jobs and investment opportunities available in the country.
He said as a nation, ?we have lessons to lean from places like California, where the mining industry has been optimally harnessed to grow and develop the state, and urged the government and investors ?to look critically on how together we can develop the country through well planned diversification?.
Commenting on the relations between the two, Steve Rickman, Senior Vice President Human Resources said ?the relationship between AGA management and the Ghana Mineworkers Union (GMWU) can be defined as mature and collaborative?.
He said as much as management and the GMWU may well represent opposing parties in a typical adversarial working relationship, both management and the GMWU acknowledge the importance of employees and their wellness during the challenging times Obuasi Mine faces. The strength of the relationship allows for differences to be expressed and worked through in a collaborative manner, where the differences will never outweigh the importance of employee wellness?.
Mr Rickman was the leader of the AngloGold Ashanti team, which negotiated the deal with the unions, was also full of praise to the union leadership.? ?The GMWU is a very mature and forward-thinking union that readily welcomes robust conversations and is always cognisant of the future. The support shown to management during these challenging times is because the union understands that the future needs to be planned and developed; it cannot just happen by chance.
For this reason the GMWU has committed itself to supporting the current transition of Obuasi Mine into a phase of limited operations and care and maintenance in order to give the mine its greatest chance of future success?.
Retrenching workers is not something easy. It is sometimes sad, radical, brutal and unforgiven and also costly. In the case of Obuasi management is paying out more than US225 million but the overwhelming majority of employees are happy, mainly because the company has not been ruthless. The overwhelming verdict is that AGA cares.
The importance of this cordiality is that if the unions had kicked against the restructuring, the company would not have been in harmonious stead to start the care and maintenance programme. This is the importance of engagement.
