Tema, (Greater Accra), 28 April, The Textile Garment and Leather Employees Union (TEGLEU) has sued the Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company (GTMC) at a Tema high court seeking an order which will allow TEGLEU to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement on behalf GTMC workers. According to a suit filed at the Tema high court today the existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired on June 30 1997 and a new one should have been concluded to take effect from July one, 1997. It said the defendants (GTMC) have refused to negotiate and conclude a new CBA with TEGLEU on behalf of the workers despirte repeated requests and demands. The statements of claim filed by Mr. Kwasi Owusu-Yeboah, TEGLEU’s solicitor said apart from the plaintiff, the registrar of Trade Unions has not issued any other Union with a CBA in respect of GTMC workers. It said the failure by the defendants to negotiate a new CBA with TEGLEU has resulted in great hardship to the workers. It said the GTMC does not rpt not intend to negotiate a new agreement with tegleu for the GTMC workers unless it is ordered by the court to do so. Last week a Tema high court presided over by Mrs. Felicity Amoah ordered GTMC to release union dues deducted from the workers salary from October 1997 to March 1998 to TEGLEU on the grounds that TEGLEU still holds the CBA certificate on behalf the workers. TEGLEU and the industrial and commercial workers union (ICU) have been locked in a fierce legal battle in the past two years over attempts by the ICU to get textile workers to leave TEGLEU for the ICU. gri
