General Secretary Defeats Accountant

Mr Ralph Apaaya, General Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Woorkers Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), scored 290 votes to beat James King Azortibah, accountant, in an election held at the Eleventh Quadrennial National Delegates Conference held in Kumasi. Mr. Azortibah had 218 votes at the conference which had the theme: �Quality Education Delivery for National Development: The Role of Educational Worker, and the Responsibility of All.� Mr. Peter Kwaku Lumor retained his position as the National Chairman, when he secured 133 votes as against 132 by Mr. Peter Esson, an accountant of the Ghana Education Service. Mr. Apaaya thanked the electorate for honouring him, saying that education delivery was a shared responsibility, for that matter everyone in whatever capacity in which he or she served, must work harder to achieve the objectives of employers. He expressed concern about government's inability to resolve the impasse on the second tier pension, so that contributors would enjoy their benefits. Mr. Apaaya further expressed concern about lack of logistics, adding that, employers should endeavour to provide these items to enhance productivity. He said, cooks for instance, did not have any protective clothing, and many of them ended up with heart attacks. He also appealed to authorities of educational institution to arm security men at various campuses, so that they could repel armed robbers who occasionally attacked students.