High Court settles 32-year ATL labour dispute

The Accra High Court (Labour Division) has settled a 32-year-old labour dispute between the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) and the Textile, Leather and Garment Union (TEGLU). 

The court in its ruling, said the ICU, to which the ATL Union belonged, had majority membership as compared to TEGLU.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Rockson Aboawen, therefore, ordered TEGLU to hand over the bargaining certificate to ATL ICU, which holds the majority.

Justice Aboawen also ordered that an amount of GH¢425,000, which was injuncted during the crisis, be shared between the two unions.

The ruling, which took effect on June 19, 2024, has now brought peace and harmony among the workers.

ATL was represented by their lawyer, Albert Adare, while Paul Kumi stood in for TEGLU.

The General Secretary of the ICU, Morgan Ayawine; the  Local Secretary of ATL ICU, Joseph Botwe, and TEGLU,’s representative, Victor Kumah, were all in court when the judgment was being delivered. 

Jubilation

Soon after the judgment was read, some ICU members, who had gathered outside the Court building, lifted their hands to give thanks to God.

Addressing the media, Mr Ayawine expressed his joy, adding that the longest labour crisis had come to an end.

The ICU General Secretary advised that peace should be maintained to safeguard their jobs.

Mr Botwe assured the ICU office in Accra that with the dispute finally settled, workers would work even harder than before to restore ATL as the best in fabrics, wax and designs in the country. 

ATL

The ATL was established in 1967 by a Chinese-Hong-Kong businessman, Mr Cha, with assistance from the Paramount Chief of Akwamu Traditional Area, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto II, who doubled as a former Chairman of the Presidential Commission of President Kwame Nkrumah.

Odeneho Kwafo Akoto II released a 47-acre land for the factory, which employed 1,600 workers before the crisis.