Dr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, Director of Labour, Research and Policy Institute at the Trades Union Congress, has refuted claims by Economist, Professor Stephen Adei that Ghanaian workers are less productive compared to their Togolese counterparts.
Prof Adei had asserted that Ghanaian workers are among the least productive globally and that Togolese workers outperform Ghanaians in terms of productivity.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on Citi TV’s Point of View, on the occasion of Workers’ Day, on Wednesday, May 1, Dr. Otoo defended Ghanaian workers, asserting that they are hardworking despite the challenges they encounter.
Dr. Otoo questioned whether Prof Adei would choose Togo over Ghana if he required medical surgery.
“Prof. Adei said Ghanaian workers are lazy, and less productive, if he happens to have a medical condition that requires medical surgery will he go to Togo or Korle Bu? Since the Togolese workers including the medical doctors are more productive than the Ghanaian ones.
“He has a morbid hatred for Ghanaian workers and unions. His claim to fame in Ghana is what he did at GIMPA. He didn’t do those things with Togolese workers. There were drivers and security people he worked with when he was there. And the least thing these people expect from him is this kind of comment.”
He acknowledged that there are some challenges with the attitudes of some Ghanaian workers towards work but insisted that Prof Adei could have communicated his comments more constructively.
“We recognise there’s a challenge about attitudes to work, we are doing something about it. If you want to help, this is not the way a professor should go. There’s a way that professors can help us address some of the challenges. But they should find a nicer way, collaborative way of saying it.
“When you google Prof Adei, you will not find a single research document he has put there, it’s all about condemnations and castigations of Ghanaian workers. What is the basis to say that a Ghanaian worker is not productive?” Dr Otoo asked.
He criticized the government for complaining about the attitudes of workers without implementing the appropriate measures to support their work.
“Can any government or any employer come and tell us what they have been doing about productivity? except to perpetually complain that the Ghanaian worker is unproductive without evidence,” he asserted.
-citinewsroom
