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Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang

NDC committed to workers’ needs —Prof. Opoku-Agyemang

The running mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has pledged the NDC’s commitment to work with organised labour to protect the rights of workers if the party wins the 2020 general election.

At a stakeholder meeting with organised labour in Accra yesterday, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said human resources were the backbone of a strong economy, and therefore, workers and people in general must be the centre of economic policies.

As part of its goals when it comes into office, the NDC, she said, would collaborate with organised labour to protect the interest of workers.

Also, the NDC, she said, would ensure that the country ratified the International Labour Convention’s (ILO) Termination of Employment Convention to ensure adequate protection of people engaged in casual labour of up to six months, as well as those engaged on contract basis.

“Effective supervision of private employment agencies, enforcement of Session 12 of Ghana’s labour act which require a written contract of employment for work done for a period of six months or a number of days equivalent to six months, among others will be a priority area the next NDC government will pursue seriously,” Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said.

Forum

Dubbed “Conversation With Naana Jane”, the meeting is part of a series of stakeholder engagements organised by the NDC’s running mate to interact with sectors and also explain the NDC’s policies to them.

Representatives of the unions under the Trades Union Congress (TUC) such as the Mine Workers Union, Maritime and Dockworkers Union (MDU), the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) among several other unions, attended the meeting.

Protection for all

With COVID-19 ravaging the economy, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said that ought to be an eye opener for the country to pay more attention to the quality of life of hawkers, artisans and small scale farmers who had no form of union to turn to for support.

“We do not have to concentrate efforts on a few, rather we should be interested and care about everyone,” she stressed.

Organised labour

The General Secretary of GAWU, Mr Edward Kareweh, said the labour unions wanted to have a relationship that provided room for listening to “labour and incorporate our views into national policies.” #GhanaVotes2020

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