May 5, 2011

The Member of Parliament for Bantama, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has welcomed the temporal closure of the Western Steel company at Tema.

Employment Minister E.T. Mensah authorized the closure of the company on Wednesday 4th May 2012, following agitations by the Ghana Federation of Labour.

The Federation has called for the closure of the company after series of explosions left several workers injured and one person dead. The company has one month to put in place some safety measures before re-opening.

Speaking on NET 2 TV, the Member of Parliament for Bantama, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, sympathized with the injured employees commended the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare for heeding to the call of the Federation and closing down the factory.

She said, the safety of workers must be the concern of employees and it is imperative that those who do not comply with the industrial required standards are penalized to serve as a deterrent to other would- be offenders.

Hon. Cecilia Dapaah encouraged employees to demand safety tools from their employers while advocating for the prosecution of owners of business entities especially factories, that do not meet the internationally accepted safety standards.

She urged the Factory Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Employment to intensify its inspection of facilities to curtail the occurrence of such unfortunate incidents as Ghana needs its human resource to develop the country.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh