+233 203 275775
About Us
PREFACE
The Timber and Woodworkers’ Union was given recognition as one of the seventeen National Unions affiliated to the Ghana Trades Union Congress in accordance with the Industrial Relations Act at an extra-ordinary dele- gates conference held in April, 1959 at the Cape-Coast Town Hall, where the New Structure of the Ghana T.U.C. was adopted. Until April, 1959, the T.W.U. was known as “Amalgated Sawmill Employees ‘Union” having its head office at Dunkwa-on-Offin. Mr. B.N. Myer – a Liberian National who was a timekeeper at I.H.L. Sawmill at Dunkwa-on- offin, was the President with Mr. Akom-Mensah, a Specification Clerk at I.H.L as his Private Secretary, on part-time basis. The principal objective of the Amalgamation was to organise all non-man- agement employees in sawmills and other woodworking industries in the country in order to have a National Collective Agreement on minimum
wages/salaries and Basic conditions of service. It is no wonder therefore that the pioneers of the T.W.U. chose “Organise” as the Motto of the Union. This special salutation is not only an expression of unity and solidarity which should at all times prevail amongst members, but also serves as a means of identifying fellow members with whom one is not familiar, particularly those from branches other than ones own, to create awareness of oneness of all with one objective. Within the scope of this brief history, an attempt has been made to keep the present and future members and officers of the T.W.U. informed of the struggles and hardships the founding members went through in the early days to make the Union what it is today hoping that it will inspire them to uphold the achievements’ of the pioneers so that their toil and labour will not be in vain.
BY:
SAM AKOM-MENSAH Harvard university
(GEN.SEC. T.W.U.)
(1966-1982).
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Two friends who lived in Sekondi/T akoradi in the early fifties can claim credit for projecting the idea of Timber and Woodworkers’ Union. They are King Emissang – a storekeeper/Union Secretary of R.T. Bricoe
Sawmill, Sekondi, and Mr. B.. Myer – a timekeeper/Union Secretary of a Construction Company in Takoradi. In 1950, Mr. B.N. Myer lost his job after the Positive Action Strike declared by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for “Self Government Now”. Attempt by Mr. Emissang to get job for Mr
Myer at Briscoe Sawmill proved futile.Out of frustration, Mr. Myer had to leave Takoradi to live with some of his Liberian friends working at the I.H.L. Sawmill at Dunkwa who succeded in getting him employed as a timekeeper again. After some few months, he started advocating and urging the workers
at the Sawmill during break times to come together as a Union and organise for the purpose of fighting for better wages and conditions of service.
Initially, it was all LIBERIAN WORKERS AFFAIR who were only six, as the Ghanaians numbering over 200 sat on the fence for fear of victimization. By dint of hard work and persuasion, Mr.. Myer succeeded in
organising most of the workers at the Factory floor, and by 1958, about 140 members were paying a monthly Union dues of 6 pence per head, voluntarily.
Meanwhile, Ghana had become a sovereign state and a bill was before parliament for an Industrial Relations Act to legalize the establishment of one Labor Centre with Seventeen National Unions organised on industrial basis affiliated to it to be called Ghana Trades Union Congress.
Armed with this information, Mr. B.N. Myer contacted his friend, Mr. Emissang, who agreed in principle to the idea of organizing the workers in the Sawmills to form a National Union. The problem then was finance for the exercise to take off; but that did not scare Mr. Myer at all. With the little money available to him from the I.H.L. Employee’ Union dues and part of his monthly salaries, Mr. Myer, with Akom Mensah as his secretary, sent out circular letters to workers in Sawmills throughout the country selling the idea to them and inviting them to meetings to discuss the issues.
Although, the idea was generally approved and supported, it remained a mere topic of discussion and nothing concrete was done until 30th February 1958, when representatives from the following Unions met at Dunkwa and constituted themselves into Constitution/Inauguration Planning Committee and came out with a draft Constitution which gave form and substance to what had hitherto been no more than a concept.
1ST ELECTED NATIONAL OFFICERS OF A.S.E.U.
The following were the first to hold office in the Amalgated Sawmill Employees Union of part time basis.
· Mr. B.N. Myer – President
· King Emissang – Vice President
· T.H. Davies – General Secretary
· J.A. Osei – Organizers
· Akom-Mensah – Financial Secretary
FINANCE
Monthly Union Dues was fixed at 6 pence per member and leaders of the branch union were to collect them at their locals and send 50% to the Amalgamation for the up-keep of the National Secretariat at
Dunkwa. Special Levy was also to be imposed when the need arises. Meanwhile, the Sawmill employees in the Ashanti Region had joined the building trades employees and formed a National Union called Building Trades Organization (B.T. O.) in Kumasi, so they were not represented at the founding of the Amalgamated Sawmill employees’ Union.
THE BIRTH OF T W U
In April, 1959, at an extraordinary workers delegates conference, organised by the TUC at the Cape-Coast Town Hall to discuss the ‘NEW STRUCTURE’ “Timber and Woodworkers’ Union” was adopted
as the appropriate name for a National Union of workers in all Woodworking industries in Ghana since the Amalgamated Sawmill Employees’ Union was limited to Sawmill Employee only. A Constitution making the General Secretary full time officer and Chief Executive was also adopted.
ELECTION OF 1ST NATIONAL OFFICERS OF TWU
After the Cape-Coast congress, the TWU met at YMCA Hall Kumasi in June, 1959 to elect officers. This time, the Sawmill Employees Union with BTO participated, and the following were elected as officers; for the two year term.
MERGER WITH CONSTRUCTION UNION
By 1964, the membership of the TWU was around 9,000 and it was assumed that all workers in the Sawmills and most of those in the logging industry had been unionised by the district Orgnisers and
were paying their monthly Union Dues of 20 pesewas per month by check-off; but the monthly income of the Union could not meet its overheads and Staff salaries. This compelled the TUC to merge the TWU with Construction and Building Trades Workers Union to become stronger. Under the merger the General Secretary of the TWU became the Deputy General Secretary.
FURNITURE WORKERS’ MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
In 1965, Mr. Akom-Mensah was temporarily transfered from Samreboi District Office on Special assignment to organise the workers in the Furniture factories and Boatbuilding Companies in Accra and Tema. This, he successfully accomplished within some few months and the first he organised was the Modern Furniture Company Employees’ Union
AUTONOMY OF THE TWU
After the 1966 Coup which toppled the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, all the General Secretaries of the National Unions were detained in prison custody for an alleged Security reasons.
Meanwhile, Mr. B.A. Bentum, a former General Secretary of GAWU of TUC and minister of forestry in the ousted government, had been asked by the Coup makers to reorganise the TUC, and to elect officers for the National Unions to replace those in detention.
TUC EXTRA-ORDINARY DELEGATES CONFERENCE AFTER 1966 COUP AT LEGON
At the above Conference which was convened in May, 1966, by Mr.B.A. Bentum to re-organised the National Union of the TUC in order to elect officers to replace those in custody, the TWU opted for dis-
solution of their merger with Constuction and Building Trades Workers Union, in order to regain her lost image as a National Union again.
At the above conference which was convened in August 1966, under the auspices of the TUC for election of officers for the TWU. The following emerged as National Officers of the Union after keenly contested elections.
Bro. Samuel Akom-Mensah – General Secretary
1.K. Akuoku – National Chairman
B.B. Ackon – Vice National Chairman
George Blankson – 1st Trustee
M.S. Baido -2nd Trustee
On assumption of office as General Secretary, of the Union, Bro. Akom-Mensah’s pre-occupation was to try to set the Union’s priorities right to ensure that the question of “a merger” did not arise again in the history of the Union as a result of financial difficulties in meeting the overheads and staff salaries. This policy, Bro. Akom- Mensah was able to uphold in addition to his normal trade union duties which won him the confidence of the members to re-elect him un-opposed at the Union’s regular biennial delegates conference from 1966 to 27th April, 1982 when a group calling itself Association of local Union besieged the Hall of Trade Unions and removed the General Secretaries from office after the 31st December Coup which ousted the Limann Government.
KomDigital PLC™ © All Rights Reserved® Accra,Ghana. 