“Allow the law to settle labour disputes”

Accra, Dec. 3, GNA - Mr Joseph Aryitey, Chairman of the National Labour Commission (NLC) has said that attempts by persons or bodies outside the law to resolve industrial matters after duly established bodies had taken action sent wrong signals to investors that the country's system was unreliable.

He said it was important that when deviants decided to flout the law, stakeholders, who ensured its promulgation, must have interest in its efficacy.

"Imagine advising an investor that industrial disputes are resolved by Parliament or religious leaders or eminent citizens or even the President. Can that investor trust the system? Would good governance be enhanced?" He asked.

Mr Aryitey was delivering the keynote address on the theme: "Building Trust in Industrial Relations - And the Act of Balancing Stakeholders Interest - The Role of Employers and Employees," at the annual congress of the Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited Senior Staff Association.

In reference to the intervention of religious leaders in the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) issue, Mr Aryitey said although done in good faith it had raised serious questions that must engage the attention of people concerned about the direction of industrial relations practice in the country.

"Let not posterity conclude on hindsight that religious leaders, who represented the moral conscience of the nation, did not lend support to law breakers and encouraged the resort to appeasement as a policy to deal with labour disputes," he said.

He said if the parties to the dispute had allowed the processes under the Act to work, a lasting solution would have been found. Mr Aryitey, however, asked employers to think of the welfare of the employee, which was paramount to the attainment of corporate objectives and not to wait for problems to come up before taking action. "Let the employer be proactive in workers' welfare rather than wait to be forced by workers' demands to better their conditions. When the worker is contented and is generally well looked after he is an asset to the employer and will raise the standard of industry," he said. Mr Aryitey appealed to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, which administers the programme under which companies were admitted to the prestigious Club 100, to consider the inclusion of harmonious industrial relations at the workplace as one of the criteria to be satisfied by applicants.

He said it was regrettable that a laudable programme that ranked companies into this exclusive Club did not factor in how such companies related to workers.

He said the absence of such criteria did not motivate employers to give their workers, who were the important production resource, the necessary priority and attention. He said the inclusion of sound industrial relations practice as one of the benchmarks for admission into the Club would send positive and encouraging signals to employers to attach high premium to harmonious labour-management relations.

This, he said, would be a major contribution that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre as a neutral or disinterested party could make towards building trust in industrial relations for increased productivity.

Mr Dan Tagoe, Acting Chairman of the Senior Staff Association, said it was important that the Management came to the negotiating table in the interest of peace and progress of the Company. Mr Mike Ezan, who chaired the function, said building trust and confidence in employees was a key to achieving industrial harmony at the workplace. He said it was only when there was mutual respect among the parties that they would work hand in hand to achieve corporate goals. Mr Ezan asked Managements to be balanced without jeopardizing stakeholders' interest. 03 Dec. 06