The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for the protection of fundamental human rights, job security, and other occupational privileges for domestic workers to improve their general wellbeing and secure their future.
According to the Head of Organizing Department of TUC, Mr. Eric Amoadu Boateng, the nation’s informal sector including; domestic workers employed about 71 percent of the country’s labour force, and the sector contributed significantly to the economic development of the nation.
Therefore protecting their general welfare remains paramount to the holistic economic augmentation, he added.
Mr. Boateng was speaking at a domestic workers sensitization forum organized by Action Aid Ghana, an NGO, at Sunyani for traders, artisans, market women, caterers, Porters, spare parts dealers, street vendors, and house-helps.
He regretted that most often, domestic workers were denied mandatory annual leave, pensions, social security and medical care, a situation flouted labour laws.
“It is sad some domestic workers are made to work more than the stipulated working hours, and have no resting periods and earn meagre monthly wages. Occupational health and safety standards are either non-existent or poorly enforced in the informal sector”, Mr. Boateng noted.
He therefore called for strong unionization of the informal sector workers to strengthen the sector and give it a strong voice.
Mr. Boateng said trade unions played a key role in promoting decent jobs for vulnerable groups including; persons with disability.
He underscored the need for an effective collaboration between TUC and National Union of Workers with Disability, Ghana Federation of Disability Organization (GFD) and the Centre for Employment of Persons with Disability (CEPD) to promote and protect the fundamental rights of PWDs.
