New bill to address problems of casual labour

A new labour bill currently before parliament will adequately address the rights of casual labour, Mr Abraham Ossei Aidoo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West has stated.

Mr Aidoo who was speaking at a public forum he organised to interact with his constituents on Sunday, noted that currently, casual labour did not enjoy any privileges like that of permanent workers.

"They have no social security, their hospital bills are not paid by their employers, they are not granted leave, and receive no bonus," he stated.

Mr Aidoo said when parliament resumes next October, the new labour bill which is currently before the Committee on Manpower Development, Labour and Social Welfare, will be dealt with the hope of providing sufficient rights to casual labour.

The MP called on workers and other individuals with the requisite knowledge on labour matters, to offer suggestions to parliament to enable it come out with a law that would address their problems.

Mr Osei-Wusu, former Assembly Member said the Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) had received more than 7,000 applications for the poverty fund.

He said it is the right of every citizen in the municipality to benefit from the fund, and advised those who had not yet applied to send their requests to the Municipal Chief Executive for consideration.

Mr Osei-Wusu dismissed allegations that it was only NPP contractors from Tema East that benefited from contracts awarded by the TMA, while others from Tema West were shunned.

He explained that before a contractor is listed by the TMA, the company must register with the Authority's Engineers department and pay the necessary registration fees.

For road projects, the contractor must register with the Ministry of Works and Housing before you can get a job from the Urban Roads Department.