New Labour Law be operational from March 31

Accra, March 11, GNA - Government on Thursday said the new Labour Law Act which is labour friendly and introduces new innovations would be operational from March 31.

In a speech read on his behalf of Mr Yaw Barimah, Minister of Manpower Development and Employment at the launch of the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF).

He said the new law was expected to resort to dialogue instead of strikes.

He said a national sensitization workshop of the Tripartite Social partners was also being planned for the second week of April to kick-start the educational process on the provisions of the Labour Act.

INICOF broke away from the Industrial Commercial Workers Union on August 10 last year due to what they referred to as "undemocratic processes, among other things", and was issued with a registration certificate on October 6 last year to enable them to form a new union. UNICOF has a membership of 5,000 and 23 institutions from which members were drawn.

Mr, Barimah stated that government had placed employment and wealth creation as a focal point of its economic policy and recognizes that industrial peace and harmony are fundamental to the attainment of accelerated economic growth and prosperity.

"This collaborative and cordial industrial relationship based on Tripartism, is what, we as social partners need to forge ahead in our national development and quest for growth and wealth creation", he said. He said the 1992 constitution enshrines the right of people to form or join associations for lawful purposes as a fundamental human right and as an essential element in democratic governance.

Mr. Barimah said the legitimate business of government was to ensure that trade unions or workers' organisations were nurtured to better serve, not only the interest of their members, but the social partners and society as a whole.

He noted that, with the introduction of pluralism in trade unions it was the hope of government that no section of labour would pursue pluralism for its sake alone, and that the emergence of union organisations should not bring rivalry, rancour and other tendencies likely to create turbulence in labour organisations.

Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) said the occasion of a breakaway from one union raised fundamental questions about trade union's existence and its principles. He noted that the TUC would have wished to be celebrating the merger of two or more unions instead of addressing the launch of a new one.

The Secretary-General said divisions within workers movement should be seen as temporary setbacks once they occurred and looked forward to new opportunities, first for unity of action and move on to greater heights.

He reminded UNICOF that the burden of proof lay on those who sought change from the old order, adding, " prove that you were right in moving on."

He, however, pledged TUC's support and said: "This will be with the view to achieving unity of action and eventually organisational unity among workers in the sectors in which the two unions operate."

Mr Francis Davoh, General Secretary of UNICOF said the union, among other things, aimed at establishing procedures to facilitate effective management, and put in place a collective bargaining agreement for all local unions.

He said their services had been designed to be collaborative so as to ensure that their partners, members and all stakeholders derived maximum benefits.

UNICOF, he pointed out, should not be regarded as another intrusion into organisation to compete with management but rather they should be seen as partners in the effort to achieve a golden age of business through improved productivity and industrial labour harmony.