Beyond the headline warning about Ghana’s unemployment crisis, organised labour used this year’s May Day parade at Jackson Park in Koforidua to press a detailed set of sectoral demands, spanning pension reform, labour rights, cocoa sector distress, and the continuing damage caused by illegal mining.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) Secretary General Joshua Ansah delivered the keynote address at the national event, held on Friday, May 1, under the theme “Pivoting to Growth, Jobs and Sustainable Livelihoods, Resetting Ghana Beyond Macroeconomic Stability.” President John Dramani Mahama attended the ceremony alongside workers from across the country.
On pensions, Ansah pointed to a system where fewer than one in five eligible workers are enrolled and many retirees receive monthly payments below GHS500, while certain public officials retire on full salaries without having contributed to any pension scheme. “The situation where some public officials do not contribute to pension but retire on their salaries is no longer tenable,” he said. The TUC is also calling for broader stakeholder consultations following the reassignment of pensions oversight from the Ministry of Labour to the Ministry of Finance, and moves to amend the Pensions Act that organised labour says have proceeded without adequate engagement.
On labour rights, Ansah raised concerns about employers restructuring workforces through redundancy processes and then refilling similar roles through third-party employment agencies under less favourable terms. He described the resulting accountability gaps as a form of legal limbo, where workers facing disputes struggle to identify whether responsibility lies with the agency or the client company. The TUC is pushing for amendments to the Labour Act, including a requirement for employers to provide clear written justifications for terminations.
Ansah also flagged what he described as increasing politicisation within the public sector, warning that promotions, transfers, and disciplinary decisions based on perceived political affiliations are eroding institutional integrity, and that invoking past precedent as justification was no longer acceptable.
In the cocoa sector, organised labour expressed concern over a reduction in the producer price and reported delays by buying companies in purchasing harvested beans, calling on government to support the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in clearing the backlog.
On galamsey, Ansah acknowledged the revocation of Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which had permitted mining in forest reserves, but warned that illegal activity in forest and river bodies continues. “If we do not stop galamsey, Ghana will not have rivers in the next few years,” he said.
The national event was not without internal division. The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) and the Forum for Public Sector Associations and Unions boycotted the Koforidua ceremony, citing concerns over the TUC’s exclusive control of the platform.
