Labour Commission organises seminar for employers in Free Zones Enclaves

The National Labour Commission is organising a day’s seminar on the Labour Act for employers in the Free Zones enclaves on Thursday, July 22.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and signed by Mr Mohammed Affum, Public Relations Officer of NLC, said the seminar would educate employers in the free zone enclaves that employment relations in the enclaves were regulated by provisions of the Labour Act 2003.

The Act protects workers’ rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining, equal pay for equal work, maternity protection, occupations health and safety and the right to strike.

“The Commission hopes that knowledge of the operators in the enclaves of the provisions of the legal framework regulating employment in Ghana would contribute to industrial harmony in the enclaves for the benefit of the operators and the country,” it said.

According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) surveys, workers in the free zones enclaves face problems of forming trade unions or engaging in collective bargaining.

Where trade unions are formed, they find it difficult to hold union meetings or such meetings are banned, overtime is compulsory and women are also forced to do night work.

The surveys revealed that free zones enterprises gained their comparative advantages through worker exploitation and anti-union repression.

Child labour is common in the free zones and in some cases laws relating to maternity is not respected and some women are dismissed after childbirth.

Source: GNA