The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union has given the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) up to July 28 to suspend the implementation of new utility tariffs. The warning was part of a resolution adopted at the end of a meeting the Union in Accra, and follows a similar demand last week by the Trades Union Congress. The ICU warns that should the PURC fail to meet the deadline for the suspension of the new tariff regime, its members would be organized in mass public protests to achieve same. According to ICU General Secretary, Gilbert Awinongya told Joy News ICU members are convinced the hikes are unbearable and must be reversed. “Members are concerned about the hike in the increases, that is one point; secondly they are also concerned that the government has removed the subsidies which they enjoyed; third the president has intervened – he has said that the stakeholders should meet. We’ve not heard anything, there is no definite period given for them to resolve this matter so as a union we went into it. We demand that the new tariffs should be suspended …we also demand that when you suspend it you also revert to the status quo. We are saying that on or before the 28th of July, we want a resolution of this. If after that, on the 29th, the national union will be going on a nationwide demonstration.” Story by Joy News/Myjoyonine.com/Ghana