Workers in Ghana still receive below national minimum wage of GH¢270-Organized labor reminds gov’t

Hundreds of thousands of workers in Ghana still receive wages well below the national minimum wage of 270 cedis per month or 10 cedis a day, organized labor has revealed.

Tens of thousands according to Organized Labor are also denied their fundamental rights to join labor unions for fear of being sacked by their anti-union employers if they exercise that right.

Hotels, telecom companies and restaurants, the labor union said, are notorious for unfair labor practice.
TUC is not also happy that casual employers worked for several years without being regularized as the law required.
The Union wants the Labor ministry to address the problem. Several young men and women have also been denied the right to annual leave and seek leave with pay.

Some workers it observed are forced to work overtime without extra pay. Some female workers have also being denied their reproductive right to have children because their employment contract will be terminated if they become pregnant.

Organized labor expressed shock that some state institutions engage in this unfair labor practice against women. The organization labor attributed unfair labor practice meted out to workers to the mandated state institutions such as the factory inspector department, labor department and the national labor commission inability to monitor to ensure compliance with employment regulations and also adjudicate labor disputes expeditiously.

It therefore appealed to the government to provide the necessary logistics to state institutions to discharge their duties.

The Trade Union Congress appealed to the government to provide the necessary logistics to state agencies to discharge their duties. Ghana’s working population estimated at 13 million and only about 1.5 million representing 11.5% have access to Social Security and National Insurance Trust SSNIT.
Over 11 million working people mainly in the informal sector are not with SSNIT. This, organized labor said is not acceptable in a rich and proud middle income country such as Ghana.

Organized labor also identified another weakness as the payment of inadequate pensions and benefits. Currently, about 50,000 pensioners receive 300 Ghana cedis a month. This, organized labor noted, is woefully inadequate given health challenges old people have to content with on a daily basis.
The highest pension on the SSNIT scheme is 55,000 Ghana cedis per month or 660,000 per year compared to those receiving a minimum pension of 300 or 3,000 per annum representing a ratio of 180:1.

Northern Regional Acting Secretary of the TUC, Mrs Felicia Kreja who delivered the TUC’s Secretary General address on May Day in Tamale described  it as extreme inequality in pension benefits in Ghana’s national insurance scheme.

On discrimination against women, organized labor said women contribute about two-fifth and yet earned minimum of 300 per month.

This year’s May Day Theme was: “Sustainable Pension for All, The Role of Social Partners.”