The General Secretary of the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) of TUCG, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to collaborate with multilateral corporations and development partners to consider subsidizing the eventual cost of the Covid-19 vaccine, when it is set to roll out the vaccine.

This, he noted, would make it accessible to everyone including the poor and vulnerable around the world.

The GMWU General Secretary said 2020 had been stressful given the debilitating effects of the pandemic on millions of lives across the globe as well as on socioeconomic activities.

Mr. Gbana, who was speaking at a National Executive Council meeting of the GMWU in Accra, observed that the devastating nature of the pandemic, made it imperative for all stakeholders to double efforts towards defeating the virus by staying the course and adhering strictly to the Covid-19 preventive protocols.

Mr. Gbana’s address touched on a few critical developments of national importance and their impact on trade unions and society in general.

He said the voice of the working people must be loud in matters that had negative impact on the life of the citizenry.

These, he said, included political vigilantism which was denting Ghana’s democratic credentials, which was the envy of many across the world, and corruption.

He said “the success or otherwise of the very bread and butter issues trade unions traditionally advocate for, remain inextricably linked to corruption and its overall impact on the national purse. Therefore, a much firmer hold on corruption will guarantee a much fairer and just society for all including trade unions and their members. Corruption is the number one enemy to our progress as a people and we must rise up collectively and stamp it out of the system; and the time is now.”

The GMWU General Secretary also used the opportunity to pay tribute to the late former President Jerry John Rawlings for his special contribution to the mining industry, from 1981 to 2000, through the implementation of aggressive policies which stimulated investments into the minerals economy in Ghana.

He was happy that the GMWU leadership last year had the singular honour of celebrating former President Rawlings, where the union conferred its platinum award on him as part of activities marking the GMWU’s 75th Anniversary.

The National Chairman of the GMWU, Mensah Kwarko-Gyakari, expressed concern about changing of permanent work into fixed term contract with impunity in the mining sector and called for national dialogue on the issue.