YOUNG WORKERS IN ACTION – GTUC Youth Delegates Conference

Keywords : Youth Work - Organising And Workers Empowerment Ghana

On Sunday 12th August 2012, the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was vibrant with over a hundred and twenty young men and women. The loud cheer of ‘Gbosa’ was enough to inform anyone it was a youth gathering.

The occasion?

– The first ever Quadrennial National Youth Conference of the Ghana Trades Union Congress.

ITUC-Africa Youth Coordinator –Rhoda Boateng delivering a fraternal message on behalf of ITUC-Africa

I was privileged to be part of this historical event especially also as the day coincided with the International Youth Day which is celebrated on 12th August every year.

Present at the meeting were also some ‘mature youth’ - the Secretary General of the GTUC–Brother Kofi Asamoah, the Deputy Secretary General– Brother Anthony Yaw Baah, the Chairman of GTUC–Brother Alex Bonney and other Secretary Generals of affiliate unions of the Ghana Trades Union Congress. The conference was chaired by the Deputy Secretary General of the Public Services Union–Brother Bernard Adjei. The youth are particularly proud of the election of Brother Bernard to his present position as he is the youngest person to assume this position in any union.

Delegates at the 1st ever GTUC Youth Conference

After the opening remarks from the leadership, some messages were delivered by other invited guests. The keynote speaker was Sister Hilma Mote from LARRI-Namibia. The ITUC-Africa Youth Coordinator–Rhoda Boateng also delivered a fraternal message. Other fraternal messages were taken from Rosa Luxemburg Foundation who funded the conference; as well as other associations.
‘Organising Young workers for Empowerment, Employment Security and Increased Productivity’ was the theme of the conference.
One remarkable outcome of the conference was the formation of a youth structure. An election process which I would describe as very orderly saw the election of 6 young workers to form the GTUC Youth Structure. Joel Odigie of ITUC-Africa and the election team must be commended for the brilliant job in the well-structured manner the electoral process was carried out.

The newly elected GTUC Youth Committee members

After the swearing in of the elected officials, the meeting came to a close at 18:20pm.

All in all, the first ever GTUC Youth National Conference was indeed a success. The future certainly looks promising with the energy and positivity that was exhibited at this conference.

KUDOS to the team who conceptualized and put the conference together under the able leadership of Freda Frimpong, the GTUC Youth desk officer.

We wish the Ghanaian youth all the best in their efforts to strengthen the labour movement.

Viva to the young workers..!!!

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