News:
December 14, 2011
Parliament on Tuesday approved a budget of GHs 1,573,195 for the National Labour Commission (NLC) for the year ending December 31, 2012.
Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, moved the motion for the approval and was seconded by Dr Anthony Osei Akoto, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee.
He said the amount was meant to pay compensation for employees, provide goods and services and acquire assets.
Meanwhile in the Committee’s report signed by Mrs Rosemary Arthur Sarkodie, Clerk, Committee on Employment Social Welfare and Mr Prince Jacob Hayibor, Chairman of the Committee, the Commission plans to organise workshops, seminars and produce educational materials to create awareness on labour laws and regulations, research into labour related issues, while labour market information for decision-making would be disseminated.
In addition, the NLC would improve the training and effective use of mediators and arbitrators and sponsor key staff to be trained in specialised labour both locally and abroad.
The Committee recommended that the Commission should educate stakeholders and other social partners on the Labour Act for the Ghana Association of Private Schools.
It also observed that the Commission had only two lawyers which did not augur well for speedy and efficient settlement of industrial disputes and that if it continued, parties to industrial disputes would lose confidence in the Commission and resort to strikes, demonstration and violent confrontation in resolving disputes.
The Committee therefore reiterated its call to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to grant the Commission special dispensation to enable it employ the requisite staff needed for the successful execution of its mandate.
It observed that no allocation was made for the establishment of regional and district offices in the 2012 estimates of the Commission and called on the Government to raise additional resources to enable it establish offices in the regions and districts.
The Committee urged the Commission to liaise with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Regional Coordinating Councils and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to work out the possibilities of acquiring office accommodations at the local levels.
It appealed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to release funds to the Commission to defray the debt for an office accommodation acquired at GHC45, 257 to avoid being dragged to court by the contractors who undertook the partitioning.
GNA