Labour Commission to decide fate of 30 dismissed Coca-Cola workers today

The National Labour Commission (NLC), will today, Wednesday, 13 January 2021 give its ruling on the case of some 30 workers of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company Limited who were allegedly dismissed wrongfully.

The ruling will indicate whether the Management of the Company erred in sacking the employees without a final conclusion to the matter.

The General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), Solomon Kotei told Class News that the mother Union will await the outcome of the ruling before taking the next line of action.

Mr. Kotei noted that the Company initially wanted to lay off 90 workers in September 2020 due to redundancy which is acceptable by law.

The number was subsequently reduced to 30, he added.

He said: “From the beginning of 2020, management wanted to lay off 90 workers but thankfully, the law requires that if you show the numbers, you must give reasons why you want to get that and those reasons must be acceptable by both parties. Fortunately, getting to October they came to say that they have reduced it from 90 to 30.

“Redundancy is the right of the employer under the law,” he added.

The staff of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company Limited in Ghana protested at the premises of the Company on Monday, 11 January 2021 over the dismissal of their colleagues.

According to them, management did not follow due process in laying off their colleagues.

The action by the management of the company is as a result of the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on its operations.