The Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, on Thursday inspected ongoing repair works on the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) building, which has seen no renovation since it was constructed nearly six decades ago.
Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, constructed the six-storey edifice in 1960 and handed over to the TUC.
But the building, designated as the Hall of Trade Unions, which houses over 20 labor unions, had been deprived of maintenance over the years, suffering from cracks and haphazard wiring and piping.
However, the TUC has now initiated repair works through contributions from member labour unions according to the space each group occupies and with support from the Government.
TUC officials told the Ghana News Agency that Government had already sunk about five million Ghana cedis into the project, estimated to cost 15 million Ghana cedis. It is expected to be completed by May 2020.
Mr Ofori-Atta, after being taken round the six-storey building by project managers, said Government’s support for the renovation works formed part of its efforts to deepen the social partnership pact signed this year with organised labour.
The agreement had been hailed by many as unprecedented in Ghana’s history as it marked a new public-private commitment in economic matters.
It also set the tone for a new dawn towards improved relationship between Government and unionised labour, which before then had been characterised with strikes.