2 Unions commend govt for cocoa sector reforms
General Secretary of Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union ICU Ghana, Morgan Ayawine
The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), Ghana and the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) of TUC (Ghana), have commended the government for the reforms to revamp the cocoa sector.
The Finance Minister last week (on Thursday, February 12, 2026,) outlined measures to reform the operations of COCOBOD and, by extension, the cocoa industry as a whole.
The two organisation in statement jointly issued in Accra yesterday, signed by The General Secretary of ICU-Ghana, Morgan Ayawine and the General Secretary of GAWU of TUC Ghana, Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe, and copied to The Ghanaian Times, said the measures taken by government to reform the cocoa industry were not only laudable but also economically prudent.
The Unions said the new financing model that would enable COCOBOD to allocate 50 per cent of the total cocoa produced in Ghana to CPC and other local processing companies for local processing.
“This initiative will promote value addition and job creation, thereby benefiting the large number of unemployed youth in the country. Additionally, the offloading of COCOBOD’s legacy debt to the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana, as well as the automatic adjustment of producer prices to align with movements in world market prices, exchange rates, and other key variables, will have a monumental and positive impact on COCOBOD’s operations and the national economy at large,” they said.
It said those measures resonated strongly with the position and representations of ICU-Ghana and GAWU of TUC (Ghana) to government regarding the financial and operational challenges facing COCOBOD and PBC, which the Unions have consistently advocated since last year.
“Undoubtedly, these interventions will give COCOBOD and PBC a new lease of life and the impetus needed to deliver on their mandate to stabilise and transform the cocoa industry in Ghana,” two organisations stated.
Whilst commending Government for the timely intervention to save COCOBOD, PBC, and ultimately the cocoa industry in Ghana, the two Unions vehemently oppose the decision to reduce the salaries of senior and management staff of COCOBOD, as that may adversely affect staff morale and negatively impact productivity.
“The decision to reduce the salaries of senior and management staff of COCOBOD, some of whom are unionised, by 10 and 20 per cent is totally unacceptable, given that Management of COCOBOD took this decision without recourse to the rules of engagement required by the Labour Law and our Collective Agreement with the relevant social partners, namely ICU-Ghana and GAWU of TUC (Ghana),” In view of this, the Unions are demanding a reversal of the decision and engagement with the Unions on the way forward, they said.
The Unions said Management of COCOBOD, its units, and other stakeholders in the cocoa industry must play their respective roles effectively to sustain the growth and development of the cocoa industry.
They said there was the need to create structures and systems that will insulate COCOBOD from external pressures and partisan politics if we are fully committed to ensuring the survival and sustainability of the cocoa industry.
“ICU-Ghana and GAWU of TUC (Ghana) are confident that the skilled workforce of COCOBOD, its divisions, and subsidiaries will redouble their efforts to help the Board achieve its set objectives,” they said.
BY TIMES REPORTER
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