Features
TUC: Hoisting ‘hot anger flags’ on labour front?
Today is Saturday, May 14, 2022. So, obviously, almost half of the month of May is gone. And in the next two weeks, we shall surely be ‘entering’ the month of June, in the year of Our Lord, 2022.
So, the month of June is just around the corner. And June is the sixth month of the year, thus, halving the year into two; with the remaining months to end the year, starting from July to December.
Readers, the Trades Union Congress of Ghana (TUC), the ‘umbrella body’ of all the radical labour unions in the country, has ‘hoisted’ a ‘dangerous flag’ with a warning that before the end of June 2022, more and more labour unrests will occur in Ghana.
The proviso to the warning is: “If the Government fails to protect jobs and consider an upward review of salaries before the end of June 2022.”
The Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah says: “For the past six years, the TUC has sought to use dialogue to resolve labour issues with its employer(Government) but that has achieved very little results.”
Speaking to Citi-TV just recently, Dr Baah said; “workers will resort to unpleasant means to press home their demands, due to the Government’s reluctance to give them their due.”
According to the TUC boss: “This is the signal that I gave (during the May Day) to let Government know that if they do not listen to us through dialogue, we will do what trade unions do.”
Dr Baah warned:”If Government does not change its way of doing things, in terms of protecting incomes and jobs, I can tell you that things will happen.”
Dr Baah said: “Reviewing the Single Spine Pay Policy and making sure that our incomes are protected is our priority.”
He added: “If inflation keeps going up, it will come to a point where we can’t take it anymore, and that will start serious labour unrests in this country, which will not be good for all of us.”
Recently, the TUC has intensified its calls on Government to improve the low wages and salaries many of its members earn.
Some labour unions spoke against the four per cent and seven per cent salary increment offered by Government in 2021 and 2022 and accused the TUC leadership of having been compromised by Government.
They claim that the TUC rather chose to accept” a paltry four per cent and seven per cent salary increment for workers who earn the minimum to average salaries and rather overlooked the increase of the Article 71 Office Holders, who already earn higher salaries yet increased theirs to 79 per cent .”
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Thomas Musah, also said:”Our current incomes have direct effect on our pensions,” stressing that , “this is the opportune time for Government to put smiles on the faces of workers, by adjusting salaries of workers upwards.”
Speaking in an interview with TV3, Mr Musah said:”Times are hard for workers and so salaries must be made to meet inflation figures, increment in transport fares, fuel price hikes among others.”
Mr Musah stresses:”The reason the issue of income has become crucial and critical is that , the income you take today has a direct correlation to your pension; so if your income is very low today, if you go on pension , the money you will take cannot even take you home.”
A labour analyst says, much as the workers have the legitimate right to ask for salary increment and better conditions of service, Government must set conditions to measure levels of productivity at work places, to reward workers who meet their targets.
The labour analyst says:”Truth be told, if proper levels of productivity were to be measured at various workplaces in the country, many workers, including their managers , will be dismissed without any compensation.”
According to the labour analyst:”Some Chief Executive Officers of some State-Owned-Enterprises, which are constantly making losses without any justification, are better paid than some of those making profits.”
The labour analyst says:”Even some of the President’s own Ministers are not performing to expectation, yet they are still receiving the fat salaries they are enjoying.”
Some Ghanaians, however, say , Government must quickly listen to the TUC and do the needful because all rational labour unions under the canopy of the TUC are ready to ‘battle’ Government since they are all experiencing the current economic hardships, mainly triggered by known global factors.
This column is also prompting Government to ‘fruitfully’ engage the leadership of the TUC to avert the actualisation of TUC’s ominous ‘intents’ in its warning.
This is because if the threats are carried through, the impact on our ailing economy will be very difficult to reverse and the ‘holy’ name of Ghana will be tarnished in the eyes of the global community.
The TUC is a ‘mighty’ institution and Government must remember that June 2022, is just ‘hanging’ around the corner.
Contact email/ WhatsApp of the author:
asmahfrankg@gmail.com (0505556179)
By G. Frank Asmah
Features
Fix It Fast or Lose Them Forever: The Ever-Rising Importance of Service Recovery in Competitive Industries
Yes, in literature and in practice, differences exist regarding customer service, service failures, and service recovery.
But have you ever considered the latter (service recovery) and its potential impact on service experience, brand building, and sustainable growth?
Well, in today’s fiercely competitive service economy, customer experience has become one of the most powerful determinants of business survival and long-term success.
Across industries, from aviation and banking to telecommunications, hospitality, healthcare, retail, and digital platforms, customers now expect fast, seamless, and reliable service delivery at every touchpoint.
Yet despite technological advancements and operational improvements, service failures remain inevitable.
Systems experience downtime, deliveries are delayed, reservations are misplaced, payments fail, customer inquiries go unanswered, employees mishandle interactions, and digital platforms experience disruptions.
In the midst of these, what increasingly separates successful organisations from struggling ones is not whether failures occur, but how quickly and effectively they recover when they do.
Service Recovery
Simply put, it is the process of fixing a service problem and restoring customer confidence after a failure has occurred.
Examples of service recoveries are; an airline offering compensation after a flight delay, a telecom company restoring interrupted service and providing bonus data, a restaurant replacing a wrongly prepared meal at no extra cost, a hotel upgrading a guest’s room after a booking problem, and finally a bank reversing an erroneous transaction and apologising promptly.
As competition intensifies and customer expectations continue to rise, service recovery is rapidly evolving from a routine customer service function into a critical strategic capability.
Businesses are discovering a hard truth of the modern marketplace: fix customer problems quickly, or risk losing them permanently.
Customers are More Powerful Now Than Ever
Customers now possess more power than at any other time in business history. Digital technology, social media, online reviews, and mobile connectivity have fundamentally changed customer behaviour.
Consumers now easily compare competitors instantly, publicly share negative experiences, switch providers with ease, and influence the purchasing decisions of thousands of others online.
This evolution has made customer loyalty increasingly fragile. A single poor experience can quickly damage years of brand-building effort.
In highly competitive sectors where products and pricing are often similar, customer experience has emerged as one of the few sustainable competitive advantages.
Modern customers no longer evaluate organisations solely by product quality or pricing. Increasingly, they judge businesses by their responsiveness, reliability, transparency, empathy, and effectiveness in resolving problems.
Why Service Recovery Matters More Than Ever
Failures are no longer viewed as isolated operational incidents, especially in competitive service sectors. They are moments that directly influence customer trust, brand perception, and future purchasing behaviour.
Research across service industries consistently demonstrates that customers are often willing to forgive mistakes when organisations respond quickly, communicate honestly, show empathy, and resolve issues effectively.
Conversely, poor recovery experiences frequently create stronger dissatisfaction than the original service failure itself.
For many businesses, the greatest reputational damage does not arise from operational errors, but from delayed responses, poor communication, lack of accountability, and unresolved customer frustrations.
This has elevated service recovery into a central component of customer relationship management and competitive strategy.
Speed, a Competitive Weapon
In the modern service economy, speed is no longer merely operational efficiency; it is a basic customer expectation.
Consumers increasingly expect: immediate responses, real-time updates, fast complaint resolution, and proactive communication. Delays are often interpreted as incompetence, indifference, or organisational inefficiency.
Consequently, organisations are redesigning their service recovery frameworks to prioritize rapid intervention and customer reassurance.
A cursory assessment revealed that some businesses now operate dedicated customer experience teams, 24/7 support systems, AI-powered service platforms, automated escalation systems, and real-time issue monitoring dashboards.
The ability to resolve customer problems quickly is now a major source of competitive differentiation.
Technology Is Transforming Recovery Strategies
Technology is fundamentally reshaping how organisations manage service recovery. Across industries, companies are leveraging artificial intelligence, customer analytics, chatbots, predictive monitoring systems, and integrated digital support platforms.
These tools allow organisations to identify service failures earlier, monitor customer dissatisfaction, automate responses, personalize engagement, and accelerate resolution timelines.
Some organisations now proactively contact customers before complaints are formally lodged, using analytics to identify service disruptions in real time.
This means that the future of service recovery is increasingly preventive rather than purely reactive.
Service Recovery as a Brand Strategy
Forward-looking organisations are now treating service recovery as part of brand management strategy rather than operational damage control.
The logic is straightforward because, acquiring new customers is expensive, dissatisfied customers influence others, and loyalty is increasingly experience-driven.
Businesses are therefore measuring customer satisfaction, response times, complaint resolution rates, customer retention, and net promoter scores more aggressively than before.
In many industries, service recovery performance is now discussed at executive and board levels because of its direct relationship with profitability, reputation, and long-term growth.
A call to action
As industries become more digital, interconnected and customer-driven, service recovery will likely become even more important.
Therefore, organisations that succeed in the future will likely be those that respond rapidly, communicate transparently, empower employees, leverage technology intelligently, treat customers fairly, and place their (customers’) trust at the centre of recovery strategies.
Remember, customers now have more choices, less patience, and greater influence than ever before, a clear message to forward-looking organisations that when service breaks down, recovery is everything. Fix it fast or risk losing customers forever.
Writer: Mohammed Ali
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
