Ho (Volta Region) 18
December 2002- Mr Kofi Davor, Executive-Secretary of Industrial and Commercial
Workers Union of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), on Tuesday asked Management
and workers of the State Insurance Company (SIC) to brace up to face challenges
posed to the profitability of the company.
He said many other
outfits, including banking institutions had moved into selling products that
were in the past the preserve of SIC and have even introduced new ones thereby,
creating intense competition in the market.
Mr Davor was
addressing the third Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the SIC Employees'
Union of ICU of TUC, Ghana in Ho. Thirty delegates are attending the three-day
conference, under the theme, "Challenges Facing The Insurance Industry In
The Golden Age of Business- The Role of Management and Union".
Mr Davor said the
loss of SIC's market share to newer companies might not mean the company was
not doing well but the reality was that competition had put it in turbulent
times.
He said issues of
under cutting prices of products such as vehicle premiums were testimonies to
the fierceness of the competition which might result in some close ups of some
companies in the near future.
Mr. Davor said other
challenges for workers in Insurance Business and other financial institutions
included globalisation, which has led to the closure of branch offices because
customers could be accessed through technological mediums.
He called for
cooperation between management and unions to tackle the mutual interest of
keeping their outfits above the bottom line. Mr Davor said both sides must
"develop the reflex to talk", saying that labour had stopped
"banging tables as we do, as there is pressure on all of us to understand
the environment."
He said managements
should take workers into confidence, knowing that as their heritage they must
work for the survival of the company. Mr Davor called on the Union to look
beyond issues of salaries and also tackle issues affecting job security.
Professor Isaac
Mensah Ofori, Board Chairman of SIC, said the dynamics of business ownerships
today called for a re-visit to the confrontational and adversarial relationship
between managements and unions
He said the monopoly
SIC enjoyed in the past was gone and hinted that a new Insurance Bill in
Parliament would bring significant changes into the business. Mr Kwasi
Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, in a speech read for him appealed to the
SIC Management to be transparent and involve the Union in decision making while
the Union should in turn provide credible and truthful feedback for management
initiatives.
He condemned the
habitual late start of programmes, saying the concept of "African
time" must be got rid off. The opening ceremony scheduled to begin at 0100
hours got off at 1330 hours as a result of the late arrival of delegates from
Accra.
Mr Michael Biney
outgoing Chairman of the Union said the SIC had in the year raised its market
share from 39 to 47 per cent and called for motivational packages to galvanise
workers to increase productivity.
GRi…/
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Tema (Greater Accra)
18 December 2002- Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Deputy Minister for Roads and
Transport, on Tuesday called on the private sector to take advantage of the
trade liberalisation policy to expand their businesses to ensure economy
growth.
He said the reduction
in the inflation rate and the decline of interest rate was an indication of
improvement in the economy and urged business people to enter into the industry
to enable it flourish.
Mr Agyeman-Manu was
launching five brands of Alfa Romeo vehicles for the Tanink Euro Ghana Limited.
The brands are 147, 156, 166, GTV, and the Spider. He commended the company for
its innovation that had made it to come out with durable and beautiful vehicles
that will compete in the automobile sector.
The Deputy Minister
said it was appropriate that Tanink was training a technical team on the Alfa
Romeo brand in Italy to contribute to the manpower development in Ghana and
urged companies in the auto industry to emulate it and contribute to the
success of the government's objectives of the Golden Age of Business.
In a welcome address,
Mr Roger Klogo, Managing Director of Tanink, assured the customers of the
availability of spare parts, a modern workshop and after sales service support.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
18 December 2002- Success in the export business is not based on merely the
number of products exported but on the number of customers that an exporter is
able to build and sustain, Mr Augustine Adongo, Chief Executive of the
Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE) said on Tuesday.
He said it was
important to ensure that exporters did not place too much focus on just
producing their products and sending them onto the European and other markets.
Mr Adongo was
speaking at a trade information forum with foreign trade attaches of foreign
embassies in Accra on Tuesday. The forum, which was to have attracted trade
attaches from Nigeria, France, Mali, Germany and the Netherlands, only saw the
Netherlands representative in attendance.
He stressed the need
for market information for exporters and prospective exporters, which he said,
would promote increased export volumes and earnings.
"When exporters
are well informed and educated on export matters, they will be serving a good
purpose not only for themselves but the country as well," he noted.
On the question of
non availability of export earnings repatriation, Mr Adongo said "some
people bring in foreign exchange, buy goods and export them and import other
goods necessary for the Ghanaian market, hence you never get the actual cash
coming into the system."
He therefore, asked
banks in the country to make export finance more accessible. Banks at the forum
replied saying it was difficult to provide support for a company whose
activities you cannot monitor.
GRi…/
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