Ghana's labour movement to have Labour Commission

Mr Austin Gamey, a Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, says a Labour Commission that will see to labour issues is expected to be in place when the new Labour law comes into effect.

The Labour Commission will be independent of government control because it will not be directly responsible for the law. Mr Gamey was speaking at the opening of a four-day seminar jointly organised by the Textile, Garment and Leather Employees Union (TGLEU) and the Pan-African Federation of Textiles and Clothing Workers (PAFTCW) for members in the textile sector. The seminar is under the theme "The Textile Industry in Ghana, Problems and Prospects: The role of Government, Manufacturers, Labour and Distributors".

Mr Gamey said currently, the labour bill is expected to be laid before parliament when it resumes in the middle of December, hoping that it would not be long before it is passed because its contents have been agreed upon by all parties concerned.

Under the new labour law, there will be freedom of association, which will allow employers the freedom to select their own representatives. This will help stem labour conflicts such as the one between TGLEU and the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU).

Mr Jacques Jouret, President of International Federation of Textile and Clothing, who was a special guest, stated that a survey conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows that the textile sector accounts for 16.4 million regular jobs world-wide and 11.2 million from the clothing sector. He therefore called on various governments to attach importance to the industry and provide it with the necessary requirements to help them flourish.

Mr Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of TGLEU, said his organisation is bent on galvanising all the stakeholders to create a platform to activate eventful direction of the sector by minimising the weaknesses and threats