The Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress of Ghana, Bro. Kwasi Adu Amankwah has urged government to iron out discrepancies on the labour front with speed. He said turbulent industrial relations lie ahead if government and employers do not sit up to address the growing demand for better incomes in an appropriate manner. Adu Amankwah said the signs do not augur well for the economic and social stability of the country and the government and employers would do a better job to confront the issues head-on. He was speaking at the national May Day rally held at the Independence Square where thousands of Ghanaian workers gathered to mark International Labour Day. Adu Amankwah said for six months, workers of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds at Akwatia in the Eastern Region have not been paid their salaries and are threatening industrial actions while over a year, Health Workers have been frustrated in their agitations to get disparities in their salaries corrected. He said for eight months since an appellate body was set up to resolve the Health Workers’ dispute, there does not appear to be a solution yet. “We hold the authorities responsible for the current frustrations and the restlessness on the health front, and we urge the authorities to do all in their power to address the concerns of the health workers; to bridge the huge gap and disparities between doctors and other health worker groups.” Adu Amankwah said there had been varying difficulties in the work of the National Labour Commission and urged all social partners to support the Commission to perform more effectively to ensure industrial peace. He also condemned what he said was the unbridled trade liberalisation policy of government which saw to it that even cloths for the 50th Anniversary celebration of Ghana’s independence was imported. He said such a wholesale liberalisation was inimical to government’s efforts to address the growing unemployment situation in the country and called for checks. He also asked industrial social partners, especially government, to invest more in genuine social dialogue and collective bargaining to ensure that they promote peaceful industrial relations and orderly dispute settlement. “On our part, organised labour in Ghana renews its commitment to contribute build a better nation where economic progress serves social needs and where those who toil, benefit appropriately from their labour. We condemn those who profit from the misery of working families and rededicate ourselves to the struggles for a decent work and a decent life for all.”