The new Minister of Labour, Employment and Job Creation, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, has indicated that reducing unemployment is his top priority, particularly as the country continues to grapple with the challenge of providing jobs for its young people.
He said although there were several issues requiring attention in the labour sector, job creation was at the centre of his agenda because efforts to develop the country would have a limited impact if young people remained unemployed.
“The first thing I want to do is to at least bring down unemployment as much as I can,” he said.
Mr Agyekum made the statement when he led a delegation from the ministry to engage the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Accra last Thursday.
The gathering saw the leadership of the TUC and representatives of its various unions and groups converge to discuss challenges confronting workers, and ways of strengthening collaboration between the government and organised labour.
The meeting formed part of the minister’s engagement with organised labour following his assumption of office, with the TUC leadership using the opportunity to present a number of concerns affecting workers and the labour market.
The engagement was also intended to deepen cooperation with organised labour, and create an environment beneficial to both employers and employees.
Mr Agyekum said the unemployment situation required a collective effort, stressing that the inability of young people to secure jobs remained a major concern.
“Unemployment is becoming something that we all have to fight.
Yes, we can do anything, but if the young men are not getting jobs, it’s problematic,” he said.
He said tackling the problem would require working together with organised labour and other stakeholders to identify practical solutions to the employment challenges confronting the country.
The minister further stated that the private sector must play a leading role in employment creation, indicating that the government would have to create the conditions necessary for businesses to expand and employ more people.
“The private sector should actually be the biggest employer from where I sit,” he said.
He said there was also the need to strengthen the productive sectors of the economy and support initiatives that could generate employment, while ensuring that workers received decent incomes.
Skills and industrialisation
Mr Agyekum said the country also needed to prepare young people for emerging opportunities by equipping them with relevant skills, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, information technology and cybersecurity.
He further stated the need for industrialisation and increased local production, saying Ghana should be able to manufacture more of what it consumed.
He said agriculture also had the potential to provide jobs and decent incomes if the sector was modernised.
Labour reforms
On concerns raised by the TUC over labour laws, the minister said he was prepared to work with organised labour to review provisions that no longer reflected the changing employment environment.
He said he did not support termination of employment without a reason, and agreed that workers should know why their contracts were being terminated.
“I’m not somebody who will entertain that. I believe there has to be a reason for termination,” he said.
Mr Agyekum said the issue of temporary employment for work of a permanent nature needed to be carefully considered through dialogue, adding that the provisions in the proposed labour law should be examined against the realities of the current labour market.
He also called for productivity to be measured, saying the interests and responsibilities of employers should equally be considered in discussions on labour.
Mr Agyekum further gave an assurance that persons with disability (PWDs) would be included in employment initiatives undertaken by the ministry.
He also pledged to engage the President and the Minister of Education on the recruitment of PWDs as teachers.
He said his administration would promote equity in the labour force and investment as part of what he described as a new chapter for the ministry.
For his part, the TUC Secretary-General, Joshua Ansah, said the early visit by the minister was a positive signal that social dialogue would remain central to the ministry’s engagement with organised labour.
Mr Ansah said the ministry, the TUC and organised labour had a shared responsibility to ensure that economic progress translated into decent jobs, fair incomes, adequate social protection and respect for workers’ rights.
He said the country’s labour market continued to be affected by low earnings, unequal pay, inadequate pensions, unemployment, underemployment and widespread informality.
“Ghana’s labour market continues to be marred by low earnings, unequal pay, inadequate pensions, unemployment, underemployment, and widespread informality,” he said.
Mr Ansah proposed an early programme of work around five areas — a national wages and incomes policy, a review of pension adequacy, a decent jobs strategy with measurable targets for youth, women and informal workers, fair regulation and enforcement of casual and contract work, and completion of the labour bill through genuine social consensus.
He also called for stronger labour institutions capable of acting professionally, independently and promptly.
