Ibrahim Sanou, Ghanaian employee chained to container
The Trades Union Congress has expressed outrage over what it says was the “shameful and dehumanizing treatment” meted out to Ibrahim Sanou, an employee of Gateway Logistics Limited, Takoradi, by his employers.
Sanou was chained by the neck to a container by his Italian supervisor, Manlio Maggiorotto for allegedly failing to complete a task, and according to the TUC, that act, which also restricted his movement, was “not only a breach of his fundamental right to movement but goes to the core of his basic right to humane and dignified treatment, as guaranteed by the Ghana Constitution.”
“This indignity is an insult to all working people and Ghanaians as a whole, especially, given our not too distant history of slavery,” a statement issued by the TUC on Wednesday and signed by its Secretary General, Kofi Asamoah, lamented.
The statement demanded that the offending officer, who has since absconded from the country, be brought back to face prosecution while the managing director of Gateway Logistics, William Moss should render a formal, public apology to Sanou, the working people of Ghana and Ghanaians as a whole.
According to the TUC, for “an employer to have the temerity in today’s Ghana to chain a Ghanaian worker for any reason whatsoever is unconscionable and we totally and outrightly condemn it. We cannot countenance such dehumanizing conduct in the world of work. This egregious breach of the fundamental human right of Comrade Sanou and the sensibilities of the working people of Ghana is the direct responsibility of the Managing Director of the Gateway Logistics Limited Mr. William Moss.”
“We understand that Mr. William Moss has created a work environment, a white supremacist environment at the workplace that encourages the intimidation and abuse of workers which has ultimately resulted in this evil. Worst of all, Mr. Moss has failed to publicly condemn the actions of Mr. Manlio Maggiorotto and has instead held him up as an example and has allowed him to abscond the country and evade the law.”
Read more here.
