Workers in Upper West paid sub-minimum wages-Study

A survey conducted by the Labour Department on salaries and wages of workers revealed that most private sector establishments in Upper West Region still pay their employees far below the former minimum wage of ?5,500.

It also revealed that most of the workers had neither been registered with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), nor have been granted any annual leave.

Mr. Rexford Gyabaah, Wa District Labour Officer, who disclosed these to the GNA in an interview to find out the plight of workers in the region, added that although most of the workers had worked for several years, there were no compensations for them anytime they felt sick.

He said while the former daily minimum wage stipulated that every worker should be paid at least 165,000 monthly, most establishments in the region were still even paying workers between ?40,000 and ?120,000 depending on the schedules and a number of years spent in those establishment.

Mr. Gyabaah named hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, day care centres and drinking spots, as some of the areas, salaries and wages were woefully inadequate.

The officer said while some hotels and restaurants were paying workers between ?50,000 and ?80,000 per month, some drinking spots and day care centres were also paying their attendants far below ?100,000, which was an abuse of the country's labour laws.

Mr. Gyabaah said the plight of night watchmen was worst considering the enormity and danger of their work. Most watchmen are paid between ?40,000 and ?70,000 a month, which is callous, considering the spate of armed robbery and all kinds of criminal activities.

He said although his outfit had intervened several times to fight for the workers, most of the workers went back to their employers to plead for re-engagement. Apart from the building contractors, who sometimes pay their workers just like their counterparts at the government establishments, others do not even pay up to ?3,000 a day.

The district officer said because most of the employers do not pass their advertisements through the labour offices, they engage and terminate the services of workers everyday without notice.

Mr. Gyabaah said Labour Department was collaborating with SSNIT to register workers in the private sector to enable them to receive some benefits on retirement or death. He said some of the employers even deduct monies from workers salaries anytime they fall sick because they are not duly employed and called on workers to report their problems to the Labour Department for redress.

Most of them even work over eight hours and yet receive the least salaries and wages and were sacked unlawfully at the least provocation. He promised to continue advising employers to raise salaries, at least to the new national minimum wage and for them to also enjoy certain fringe benefits at their various establishments.