Government set up Employment Task Force

Saltpond (C/R), May 2, GNA - The Government has established a National Employment Task Force to develop a well-structured employment programme to facilitate job creation and placement in the country. Mr Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister announced this at the May Day celebration at Saltpond on Monday.

Mr Edumadze said the programme was to provide additional employment opportunities for the youth.

The Regional Minister advised workers to take advantage of the numerous opportunities available to upgrade their skills if they wanted to remain in employment.

The increasing global challenges call for a highly skilled labour force, he stated.

Touching on the theme of the day's celebration: "Organised labour in an era of increasing global challenges", Mr Edumadze said the challenge of rising fuel prices and the unjust trade policy had eroded the gains of the government's prudent economic management thus making it impossible for the worker to feel the gains "in the pocket". Mr Robert Quainoo-Arthur, Mfantseman District Chief Executive urged workers to regard the May Day celebrations as a day for stocktaking to identify their weaknesses as well as factors, which impeded the realization of their goals, so that the knowledge could be used to plan new strategies for moving forward.

In a speech read for him, Mr Kwesi Adu-Amankwaah, Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress stated that the record production levels in the cocoa sector in the past few years were indications that Ghanaian workers did respond to incentives. "Government created the incentives and the farmers responded positively" in the same manner if employers create the incentives, workers will respond positively".

Some workers were presented with radio cassette players, certificates and television sets for hard work. Earlier the workers went on a route march with placards some of which read: "TEWU in Central Region is dying" "SSNIT pay us better Pension," "Ghanaian workers are suffering" "A hungry worker is an angry worker," "Good incentives for increased productivity" and "Central Region needs doctors, 1:30,000 ratios deadly."

As part of activities marking the day, organised labour in Mfantsiman led by the chairman, Mr Adjei Asamoah Kusi and the Secretary, Mr P A Owusu engaged in a clean up exercise at Saltpond and Otuam.