The Deputy Secretary-General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Kenneth Koomson, has revealed that President Akufo-Addo has pleaded with Organised Labour to call off their planned strike.

According to him, the President expressed his discomfort with the strike taking place at this time and urged labour to reconsider the decision.

Speaking on News Night on Thursday, October 3, Mr Koomson stated that Organised Labour remains firm in its position and will only reconsider if the government takes concrete steps to address the concerns raised in their demands.

• Read also: Gov’t agrees to revoke L.I. 2462 to halt mining in forest reserves – Ghana Federation of Labour claims

“I was expecting the President as usual to speak authoritatively but to be honest with you, the President actually pleaded with Organised Labour that strike at this time -  for him, (he) believes will not augur well for this country,” he said.

He stressed that while President Akufo-Addo's concerns were noted, the real issue for Organised Labour is the pollution of water bodies, which affects all Ghanaians.

“So whether the strike will come on or not, it depends on the reaction and the responses of the government which will determine whether we are going forward with it or not,” he said.

• Read also: Galamsey: Organised labour declares strike Oct. 10 after expiration of gov’t ultimatum

Mr Koomson further said Organised Labour is awaiting the government's official response, which will be made public.

Meanwhile, he said that the government has agreed to revoke Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which permits mining in forest reserves.

According to him, in the engagement of Thursday, October 3, the government responded to Organised Labour’s demands, and expressed its commitment to addressing these concerns and specifically agreed to revoke L.I. 2462.

“The substance of this meeting is for the government to respond to the demands that Organised Labour has made with respect to the galamsey issue and how our forest reserves are being depleted. 

“Government agreed to respond officially to the demands that we have made. In fact, the government agreed that the L.I. 2462 was going to be revoked, parliament when it reconvenes - steps were going to be taken to ensure that the L.I. 2462 which is one of the demands is revoked,” he said.