By: Seraphine Nyuiemedi
The Chief Labour Officer at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Eugene Narh Korletey has charged labour officers across the country to up their games, in ensuring that workers are treated fairly by their employers in both private and public sector workplaces.
He said their mandate is to ensure that the working environment is safe and free of vulnerability and abuse.
Mr Korletey said this in an interview with ‘Ghana Today‘ in Sogakorfe when the Trades Union Congress organised a sensitisation forum for 22 selected labour Officers from 8 out of the 16 Regions.
Section 122 of the Labour Act, 2003 (ACT 651), mandated that Labour Inspections be carried out in the employment space to secure enforcement of the provisions of the Act relating to conditions of work and the promotion of a peaceful coexistence between employers and their employees.
The forum was organised to equip the selected labour Officers with the technical know how to deliver their mandate effectively. It was also to help them to identify child labour and modern day slavery at the workplaces.
The Chief Labour Officer at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Eugene Narh Korletey urged employers to take into consideration the favourable working conditions in the law before engaging the services of workers.
“In signing employment contract, it is important that you look at the nature of the employment. The remuneration that you have to pay. You must look at leave, overtime payment, including the safety at work”.
“All these are important indicators that must go into signing whatever collective agreement or conditions of service that you want to engage the worker, it is very important”.
“And then we ensure that there’s decency that we want to see at the world of work. So the employer is importantly to look at all these conditions in the law and make sure that it’s included in the agreement that is signed”.
He called for collaboration and cooperation of all stakeholders in the employment space to help end child labour and to ensure that both employers and workers operate and engage within the confines of the Labour Laws of Ghana.
“Institutionally, various institutions are playing various roles, but my advice here is that effective collaboration, effective networking are very important and crucial as the way forward, because one entity can not fight the menace”.
“So we need collaboration and I have advice my constituents to start linking up effectively with our major stakeholders who have various roles to play towards the fight against child labour and then indecency in the world of work”.
The Head of Gender and Child protection at the Trades Union Congress, Alberta Laryea Gyan said the Union engaged the labour Officers to help in the eradication of Child labour and forced labour in the country.
