Gold Coast Prosperity Depends on ProductivityAuthor(s): F. E. Tachie-MensonSource: Africa Today, Vol. 2, No. 5 (Nov. - Dec., 1955), p. 11Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4183762 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 00:36

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Indiana University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Africa Today.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.56 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 00:36:08 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

FEATURES (Cont'd.)

GOLD COAST PROSPERITY DEPENDS ON PRODUCTIVITY

byF. E. Tachie-Menson, M.L.A.

(President of the Gold Coast Trade Union Council)

Unlike other well-developed countries, the Gold Coast government is the largest employer of labor. In the Gold Coast, as elsewhere, it is, of course, the laborer on the streets, the artisan, and the technician in the workshop who contribute towards the advancement of the, country. But it is also true that if the worker does not achieve the required standard of efficiency, or does not learn more about his trade or industry, productivity will remain static, and the growth of the country will be retarded.

This raises the question: How can the Gold Coast worker be encou- raged to learn more about his trade? At the moment the vast majori- ty of workers earn only enough to buy food for themselves and their families, plus a few shillings more to pay for usually inadequate ac- comodation. This leaves the worker little or nothing to buy clothing, or to pay the fees needed to educate his children or himself. The re- sult is discontent, as well as a refusal by the worker to think of productivity.

In the U. S. A. almost every worker owns a car, and in some cases his wife does as well. Many American workers own their own homes, the majority buying them on the installment plan. In some industries the minimum rate of pay is even $2. 50 an hour. Nearly all workers work an eight-hour day and a five day week. But, whether employed by the Government or by private firms, a worker who has to work on either Saturday or Sunday is paid time and a half. Furthermore, there is democracy in the working place. One does not find the view that the worker must only do as he is told, and not think of himself. Both worker and employer respect each other. This has been the result of trade union action insofar as the trade unions practice democracy, which in turn means the sharing of responsibility in both government and industry.

If similarly we are to succeed in the Gold Coast we must build an economic and political democracy in which each individual has the right to determine his or her own way of life. It will not be long before the Gold Coast will achieve independence. This will place a greater responsibility upon hand and brain workers alike. It must be clearly understood by both government, employers, and workers that the prosperity and future development of the country can only be achieved by increasing productivity.

TODAY 11

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.56 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 00:36:08 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions