Put workers’ interests at centre of reforms — TUC

The Chairman of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Bernard Owusu, has called on managers of public institutions to place the interests of workers at the centre of reforms aimed at improving their performance and sustainability.

He said reforms, particularly in struggling state-owned institutions, must be pursued transparently and in consultation with workers, whose livelihoods and future could be affected by decisions taken to restructure their organisations.

“Protecting a public institution does not mean overlooking inefficiency.

It means demanding accountability, better performance, while preserving the institution’s strategic value to the country,” he said.

Mr Owusu was delivering the keynote address at a joint meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Professional and Managerial Staff Union (PMSU) and the Local Union of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) PLC in Accra last Saturday.

The meeting brought together the leadership of the two unions, management and other stakeholders of the bank to deliberate on the sustainability of the ADB, job protection and its national development mandate.

Mr Owusu said workers must also take responsibility for the survival of their institutions by speaking up against decisions that could undermine them and work with management to improve performance.

He further cautioned workers against allowing partisan politics to create divisions at the workplace, stressing that political administrations would come and go, but employees would ultimately bear the consequences of institutional failure.

The TUC chairman also urged the ADB to consolidate its financial recovery through improved credit management, accountability and prudent reforms.

He said the bank’s return to profitability, after recording a GH¢828.8 million loss in 2023, was encouraging, with profit after tax reaching GH¢367.3 million in 2025.

However, Mr Owusu expressed concern about the bank’s high Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), saying more work was required to secure sustained performance.

The TUC chairman further urged the ADB to strengthen its development mandate by helping bridge the financing gap in agriculture, which received only 4.7 per cent of the bank’s total credit in 2024.

The Chairman of the ADB PMSU, James Obeng-Gyan, called for stronger corporate governance, adequate capitalisation and preservation of the bank’s strategic assets to secure its long-term sustainability.

He expressed concern about reports concerning the possible divestiture of the Bank of Ghana’s remaining shareholding in the ADB and indications regarding the government’s interest in the bank.

While not opposed to transactions that could strengthen the ADB, Mr Obeng-Gyan said any such decision must be transparent and protect the national interest.

He advocated a comprehensive recovery programme comprising loan recovery, risk management, digital transformation, operational efficiency and responsible human capital management.

The ADB Local Union Chairman, Francis-Xavier Kongkuah, urged management to address outstanding staff concerns relating to job security, career progression and prolonged acting appointments.

He expressed concern about delays in resolving previous performance appraisal and promotion issues, saying they were undermining staff morale and confidence in career advancement.

Mr Kongkuah also called for transparency and fairness in the ongoing Staff Talent Optimisation exercise and urged management to establish a time-bound framework to regularise employees serving extended periods in acting positions.

The Managing Director of the ADB PLC, Edward Ato Sarpong, said structural weaknesses, rather than the banking industry or Ghanaian market, had been at the heart of the bank’s difficulties over the years.

He said the ADB accumulated about GH¢1.3 billion in losses between 2008 and 2024, while the government injected about GH¢3.3 billion into the bank over six years.

Mr Sarpong said management had consequently adopted a strategy to restore profitability, sustain the gains and position the bank for growth.

He said the bank’s staff optimisation exercise was intended to ensure an appropriate mix of skills across departments and improve operational effectiveness.