The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has demanded the immediate suspension of any plans to sell or divest state shares in the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), warning of widespread industrial action if the government proceeds with the privatization proposal.
Addressing union members and press representatives during a demonstration in Tema, ICU-Ghana General Secretary Morgan Ayawine stated that the union will not allow a critical national asset bequeathed by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to be handed over to private interest groups.
The protest follows ongoing concerns raised by VALCO workers regarding efforts led by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) to introduce private equity partners into the smelter’s ownership structure.
While GIADEC leadership maintains that it is seeking a strategic co-ownership model rather than an outright sale, the union rejected the arrangement, arguing that any dilution of state ownership threatens local job security and national development priorities.
Union executives delivered a formal petition to Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive Ebi Bright for onward transmission to the President, demanding direct presidential intervention to halt all privatization moves, preserve state ownership, and protect VALCO’s surrounding land reserves from private acquisition.
Ayawine cautioned that if the government fails to address the union’s demands and engage in direct recapitalization of the facility, organized labor will mobilize across its branches to initiate nationwide industrial action.
