Business News of Wednesday, 26 September 2018
Source: citibusinessnews.com
2018-09-26
TUC General Secretary, Dr Yaw Baah
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is set to continue processes to demand Living Wage for workers.
The National Living Wage will ensure that the daily wage of an average worker in Ghana caters for at least four people in a family instead of the current minimum wage which caters for only one person.
Ghana’s Minimum wage is one of the lowest in the Sub-region behind Togo, Nigeria and Benin.
Should it be successful, the two dollars a day paid workers as minimum wage could be increased.
Ghana’s minimum wage was last reviewed in 2010.
One-quarter of Ghanaian workers mostly in the informal sector, earn below 10 cedis a day.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah said plans are in place to ensure government accepts the idea
He stated that “this is the time for all of us to push for the Living wage which can take care of not only the worker, but his or her spouse and at least two children. Our researchers are already drafting a framework. We are already working on a draft, he said.”
TUC pushing for reviews
The Trades Union Congress is also pushing for an immediate review of Ghana’s Labour Laws to make it more beneficial to workers.
The TUC cited the state of workers of seven collapsed banks in recent times as one of the reasons for the review of the laws.
Dr. Yaw Baah said the current laws do not protect the needs of workers, hence their call for a revision.
He cited w the conditions of workers in the mining sector whose contracts were changed from permanent to casual contracts staff as an example.
“People have worked for ten years and they were expecting that they will work for a certain time and suddenly their contracts were terminated. And a lot of these people have loans around their necks. Many of these workers of the collapsed banks have huge loans. And the law must change to protect the interest of workers.”
The Congress has already written to the Tripartite Committee chaired by the Minister of Labour.
The over 140 Labour unions in the country have been asked to send their proposals which will be laid before the committee to begin processes for the review.