Consultation & arbitration is solution to labour unrest

Accra, Oct. 14, GNA- The Minister of Manpower Development and Employment, Mr Yaw Barimah, on Tuesday recommended arbitration and consultations between management and staff in resolving labour disputes in the country.

He said the country needed a peaceful labour environment that would ensure that investors have a level playing field to conduct their business.

Mr Barimah said this when he received an arbitration report on a dispute between the management and the senior staff of Mobil Oil Ghana Limited in Accra.

The sole arbitrator, Mr Kwadwo Yankson of Knox Consult (legal, Industrial Relations) was appointed by the Ministry to find a suitable settlement to the impasse.

Mr Yankson presented copies of the report to the Minister who in turn presented it to the management and the senior staff of the company. The impasse between Management and the senior staff arose out of the purported merger of Mobil Oil and Exxon as to the identity of the new, whether a new company has been created out of the merger and determination of conditions of service as compared to the prevailing one.

Mr Barimah expressed satisfaction at end of the impasse describing it as an unfortunate situation since it occurred immediately he assumed duty at the ministry.

He said considering Mobil Oil's peculiar situation in the development of the country's economy, the situation created a lot of concern that called for early arbitration to arrive at an amicable settlement between management and the staff.

Mr Barimah said he decided to take measures by creating a forum for the two parties to hold discussions to settle the matter.

The Minister said the recommendations of the report was generally acceptable to the Ministry and was of the conviction that both sides will accept the report and to forget the past and help build Mobil Company.

Mr Yankson observed that the relationship between the senior staff and management was not very warm and there was suspicion and mistrust amongst them.

He recommended that there should be more social activities for the staff and management to interact.

Dr Bennie Arsine, Maintenance Engineer and Chairman of the Mobil Oil Ghana senior staff association (MUGS) said they did not harbour any ill motives about the crisis but wanted the right thing to be done and thanked the Minister for showing maturity in finding a solution to the impasse.

A representative of the Management staff said they had been looking forward for the report and hoped it would be a lesson to other companies and thanked the Minister, the Chief labour officer and the arbitrator for their concern and efforts.

ASP Tawiah appealed to the participants to educate people to report promptly to the police acts of domestic violence "since failure to do so constitute a crime and offenders can be prosecuted."

He appealed to parents not to force their children into marriages because of money but to ensure that their daughters are given to responsible men who will not abuse their rights.

Miss Gifty Agbeti, Counsellor Advocate at Women Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE), an NGO, said domestic violence is one major human right abuse that has not been given attention even though it is the obligation of the state to protect its citizens in such situations. "The law in Ghana is inadequate in dealing with domestic cases," he said and added that a new domestic violence law would seek to strengthen and redeem anomalies in the constitution and protect victims from further abuses.

Mrs. Rita Akoto Coker, Communications Officer of Action Aid Ghana, said the bill would promote the dignity of persons in the domestic setting.