President Akufo-Addo congratulating Mr Owusu-Koranteng at the parade
Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, the General Secretary of Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union (MDU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), was honoured during the parade to mark the May Day celebration in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on Tuesday.
He had the privilege of receiving a citation from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his contributions toward stability on the labour front of the country over the years.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng, who has been working with the Maritime and Dockworkers’ Union (MDU) for almost two decades, has distinguished himself as a career trade unionist.
He has steered the affairs of MDU based on honesty and integrity in a difficult period of the union.
In a citation, Mr Owusu-Koranteng was described as “a stickler for excellence, hard work and honesty, who had a meteoric rise from head of administration to the General Secretary of the MDU at a time when the union was confronted with many difficulties.”
It said he used his advocacy and campaign skills to lead a campaign of MDU against the construction of the Atuabo Lonhro Port which undermined national security and violated national laws.
“He has used his leverage as one of the four representatives of Africa and the Arab world on the steering committee of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and a member of the Fair Practices Committee of ITF to raise the problems of African dockers at the global level. Mr Owusu-Koranteng has mentored many dockers to become effective trade union leaders.”
It lauded his excellence as a representative of MDU and TUC Ghana on boards of directors of the Ghana Dock Labour Company and Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), among others.
At the Kumasi parade, a contingent of dockworkers from Tema and Takoradi Ports carried placards with inscriptions like ‘Mr President-Sekondi Naval Base taking over GPHA Oil and Gas Activities,” “Mr President -Stevedore companies are losing their jobs because many companies are chasing fewer cargo,” “Mr President-don’t leave the port in foreign hands,” among others.