TEMA, Ghana, 10th September: The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has accused the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of losing focus and called on the umbrella labour organisation to prioritise workers’ welfare instead of concentrating on the ongoing constitutional review process.
According to Mr Koomson, the core mandate of the TUC is to protect and advance the interests and wellbeing of workers, and the leadership must therefore redirect its attention to pressing labour-related challenges confronting workers across the country.
His comments follow a recent press conference by the TUC, led by its Secretary-General, Joshua Ansah, in which the union criticised the government’s approach to the constitutional review process.
The TUC accused the government of selectively accepting recommendations from the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), describing the approach as a potentially partisan attempt to shape constitutional reforms based on the governing party’s political agenda.
The union’s concerns centre on the government’s reported rejection of 54 per cent of the recommendations submitted by the CRC, which it argues could undermine the principle of national consensus in the constitutional review process.
Reacting to the development on Ahotor FM’s Adekye Mu Nsem on Thursday, September 10, 2026, Mr Koomson said the TUC’s attention should instead be directed towards challenges within the labour sector, particularly the non-functioning of the National Labour Commission (NLC).
He noted that the process to appoint a new chairman of the National Labour Commission had been delayed for about two years, leaving workers with grievances without an effective platform for their cases to be heard and resolved.
Mr Koomson said workers’ cases were piling up because there was no properly constituted panel to adjudicate them, describing the situation as a matter that should be of greater concern to organised labour.
He disclosed that the Ghana Federation of Labour would soon hold a press conference to highlight what he described as the challenges affecting the operations of the National Labour Commission and to demand urgent action to restore its proper functioning.
“We are going to have a press conference soon to highlight how the commission is not working and the Labour Commission is not functioning correctly,” he said.
Mr Koomson urged the leadership of the TUC to “put their house in order” and make workers’ welfare its foremost priority.
He clarified that the Ghana Federation of Labour had also submitted its observations on the constitutional review process, but stressed that the immediate concerns affecting workers should not be overshadowed by the constitutional debate.
He described the TUC leadership’s current focus as a “misplaced priority,” arguing that the organisation must first address pressing labour issues affecting its members.
Mr Koomson also questioned the motivation behind the TUC’s strong intervention in the constitutional review debate, saying he was unsure who was influencing the union’s position but suspected that the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) could be behind it.
He nevertheless urged the TUC leadership to refocus its attention on its core mandate and work to ensure that workers have functioning institutions through which their grievances can be addressed.
He said protecting workers’ welfare and ensuring effective labour dispute resolution must remain at the centre of organised labour’s activities.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭