By: Patience Esi Tamakloe & Jones Anlimah
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), with support from the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Accelerator 8.7 Lab Project, is rolling out a sensitization and awareness program for coastal fishing communities in Ghana. The initiative aims to empower fisherfolk with the necessary knowledge of their rights at work and promote decent labor conditions.
According to stakeholders, the initiative is crucial as many artisanal fishers face precarious working conditions, including a lack of social protection, poor wages, and unsafe working environments.
Fifty participants from fishing communities in the Volta region have benefited from a workshop in this regard. The communities include Vui Tetekofe, Tetekofe, Dzelukofe, Abutiakofe, Adzido, Kedzi, Agorta, Vodza, and Xorvi.
The Volta Regional Secretary of the TUC, Mrs. Edith Amenuvor Afewu, said the TUC’s goal was to engage with artisanal fishers, raise awareness about their rights, and explore opportunities for improving their working conditions.
Mr. Emmanuel Kwame Mensah, from the Ghana office of the ILO and coordinator of the ILO 8.7 Accelerator Lab, highlighted that the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, to which Ghana is a signatory, emphasizes the importance of social progress alongside economic growth.
“The ILO Convention 188, the Work in Fishing Convention, provides 15 clear provisions on international labor standards in fishing. What is interesting and good is that Ghana has ratified the convention. On August 28th, the country deposited with the ILO, making Ghana the 22nd country in the world to ratify it,” he said. That means that every year from 2025, the country will provide a report to the ILO indicating how it is implementing the provisions of the convention. It includes provisions on social security, recruitment and placement, minimum age, and other factors,” Mr. Mensah added.
According to him, the program aligns with those principles by promoting decent work and protecting the rights of fishermen. “So the ILO sometimes uses projects to give technical capacity to social partners, like we did today. The workers are trained on these provisions, and the employers are also trained. We do all that in the context of the fundamental principles and rights at work,” he noted.
Mr. Mensah added, “We are happy that the Ghana Trades Union Congress has a workers’ policy on decent work in fishing. So the ILO Convention 188 that has been ratified can now be implemented in Ghana through the social partners, with the government also providing annual reports on how the provisions are being met.”
An ILO expert from the ILO headquarters in Geneva, Mr. Daniel Cork, emphasized the importance of addressing the risks of poor working conditions and forced labor in the fishing sector. “Through mechanisms for dialogue at the national level, the workers can come together and form a trade union collectively. That way, they can have a collective voice to engage with the employers and the boat owners. They can solve some issues through collective bargaining and bipartite cooperation. The workers and employers together can identify a number of issues that require the involvement of the government,” Mr. Cork emphasized.
He highlighted the need for respect and social dialogue, noting that by forming trade unions, workers can have a collective voice to engage with employers and address their concerns. “Such issues include establishing a social security system for the fishing sector, addressing illegal fishing, and creating a harbor here in the region, which would help promote more stability for the industry and ensure reasonable and decent incomes for workers and the industry in the future,” he remarked.
The sensitization program represents a significant step toward improving labor conditions and promoting sustainable fishing practices in Ghana’s coastal communities.
