GTUC Expresses Misgivings about High Court Ruling

Accra, May 1, GNA - The Ghana Trades Union Congress has expressed misgivings about a decision of an Accra High Court to the effect that employers could hire and fire without giving any reasons for the termination of employment.

Speaking at the May Day parade, Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the GTUC, said the ruling had serious implications for industrial relations and could undermine the consensus reached in the various tripartite consultations that led to the passage of the Labour Act 2003. "We in organised Labour are of the view that the Labour Act sought to do away with this harsh and arbitrary old common law principle by making elaborate provisions for fair termination which requires that valid reasons be given by employers for the termination of employment of their employees," he said.

Mr. Asamoah said the ruling of the High Court continues to be a source of unrest among workers as some employers are using the ruling as basis not only to get rid of so-called troublesome workers and unionists but also to circumvent laid down regulations on redundancy declaration and obligations.

Mr Asamaoh said the intention of the tripartite stakeholders was that the new Labour law would promote peaceful and harmonious industrial relations to the benefit of all the social partners by doing away with the harsh and arbitrary old common law principle.

However, he said, there appeared to be tension between the new thinking as captured in some provisions of the legislation and the old common law based on the sanctity of contract and the right of the employer to fire at will.

He, therefore, called on government to ratify ILO Convention 158 as a means of promoting the healthy industrial relations climate that the Labour Act 2003 sought to establish.

On the rights of workers, Mr Asamoah called for the strict enforcement of the law to ensure that working people form and join trade unions of their choice and exercise the right to collective bargaining. He said while the constitution and the Labour Act guarantee these rights, some employers had resorted to various illegal tactics to frustrate workers who want to exercise the rights.

Mr Asamoah called on government to adequately resource the National Labour Commission to perform its functions of resolving industrial disputes and to ensure that the Regional and District Labour Committees were established in line with the provision of the Labour Act. There was also a call on government to ensure that its economic and social policies address the widening income inequality by bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.

On job creation, Mr Asamaoh urged government to take a second look at the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement and the EPA itself because of the serious implications for the creation of productive employment. "In our view the EPA will not only undermine the creation of decent jobs in the domestic economy but also it will subvert our efforts towards regional integration," he said.

This year's May Day Parade held on the theme: "Improved Standard of Living through Decent Work - a Pre-requisite for Sustaining Democratic Governance," saw thousands of Ghanaian workers converged at the independence square.

Most of the workers carried placards some of which read: Utility bills not near our income, Bring Back End of Service Benefits, Ghana Needs Right to Information Law and Civil Servants Are Dying Slowly.