‘GIHOC is not your private company’ – Nana Yaa Jantuah fires Kofi Jumah over threats to staff

Nana Yaa Jantuah, a former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), is questioning the locus of the Managing Director (MD) of GIHOC Distilleries Limited, Maxwell Kofi Jumah, to threaten staff of the company over the botched Organised Labour strike.

Nana Yaa says the act by the GIHOC MD is an indication that he doesn’t respect Ghanaians since embarking on a strike action is a right enshrined in the Labour Act.

Speaking on the BigIssue on TV3’s NewDay Thursday, October 10, 2024, she said GIHOC is not Kofi Jumah’s private business and cannot threaten workers with dismissal for embarking on something which is their constitutional right.

She slammed Mr. Jumah for making such autocratic comments in a democratic dispensation.

Her comments stem from Mr. Jumah’s threats to staff of GIHOC over an intended strike action which Organised Labour planned against the ongoing illegal mining also known as ‘galamsey’.

Mr. Jumah had said that the issues prompting the strike were national concerns which do not directly affect GIHOC.

He told Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM Tuesday, October 08, that the protest did not align with the company’s regulations, and therefore, would not support any staff involvement.

“If you like, don’t report to work. Anyone who joins them will be sacked. I am saying this on authority. There are labour laws in the country. Let the issue be a national concern, not GIHOC’s own,” he stated.

He added, “If someone doesn’t sleep well and says things, then you follow. So, if you like, follow them and see. They should not even waste our time because we are wise people at GIHOC.”

But reacting to the issue, Nana Yaa said Kofi Jumah does not respect Ghanaians to have made such comments.

“Kofi Jumah does not respect Ghanaians because the right to strike is in the Labour Act. Why should he say that he is going to sack people? In this democratic dispensation you can’t just wake up and say you’ll sack somebody. They have the right to strike. This is not your private company. It means he doesn’t respect Ghanaians,” she fumed.

Source:onuaonline.com