The Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has recounted how organised labour mobilised against plans to sell state-owned hotels during the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, describing the campaign as an effort to protect public assets and workers’ interests.
Mr Koomson said labour organisations became concerned after learning of the proposed sale, which he considered a threat to assets linked to workers’ financial security and pension arrangements.
He recalled receiving a telephone call from Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa at about 9:30 p.m. in June 2024, during which they discussed efforts to oppose the transaction. According to Mr Koomson, the engagement helped mobilise labour leaders to organise a press conference to publicly challenge the proposed sale.
He further recounted that organised labour staged a demonstration at Jubilee House, where security personnel used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Mr Koomson argued that if the hotels were underperforming, the appropriate response should have been to improve their management or engage competent professionals to turn their operations around rather than sell them.
He maintained that the campaign was necessary to preserve public assets and safeguard workers’ long-term interests, adding that decisions involving state-owned properties should take into account their implications for workers and the wider public.
Story by Stephen Kwaku Owusu Mintah
