Industrial Relations In Ghana: Lectures Delivered 1991-2015
Opanin Obeng-Fosu is the foremost writer on the subject of Ghana’s industrial relations law and practice. He teaches as well. In this latest book “Industrial Relations In Ghana; Lectures Delivered, 1991-2015,” Opanin gives all of us – practitioners, lawyers and subject enthusiasts - an opportunity to benefit from over a decade of his lectures and experiences in the field.
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This book replaces, at the heart of employer-employee relations, the issue of industrial peace and productivity as the fulcrum for national socio-economic development.
Opanin’s perspectives and their relevance
To begin, the book is a collection of lecture notes, what we called ‘materials’ when we were in the university. So, it’s an easy pick as a reference material. As an Industrial Relations practitioner myself, the first source I would reach out to when I’m pondering over an industrial relations problem or issue is to check up with Opanin’s notes. Also, Opanin is an octogenarian. He has practised industrial relations in Ghana since 1957 and has risen from the position of labour inspector to chief labour officer. So if anything exits in Ghana’s industrial relations history, Opanin knows and has unselfishly recorded it in his notes. Since his retirement in August 1994, Opanin has continued to play a major role in Ghana’s industrial relations scene as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner and held a position as a Commissioner of the National Labour Commission having been nominated by President Kufuor in 2005 and renominated by President J.E.A. Mills in 2009.
Undoubtedly, therefore, Opanin’s work has focused on the employment relationship from the perspective of a regulator. He pays some considerable attention to Labour Administration and Regulation in Ghana - the bane of adherence to Labour Standards in Ghana at the moment. In chapter two of the book, Opanin discusses the Role of the Labour Department and contextualises this challenge.
The labour administration challenges include inspections and enforcement of standards. In dealing with this issue, Opanin draws our attention to a rich culture of collective bargaining and trade unionism serving as a buffer preventing the total collapse of the system. He highlights the robust culture of Social Dialogue in Ghana as the ethos for this buffer but demands more from institutions and practitioners.
Opanin goes ahead to mention in some very good detail the ILO standards regime. He treats core conventions of the ILO focusing extensively on Conventions No. 87 concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, Convention No. 98 concerning the Right to Organise and the whole subject of the ILO and Workers’ Participation in Decisions within Undertakings.
In Ghana, practitioners appear not to find these conventions and recommendations relevant. Practitioners might not have paid attention to them as bearers of international ‘best practice’. Opanin reminds us in this book that labour rights are human rights and that International Labour Law and Human Rights instruments deserve our attention.
Opanin also draws important attention to the broader question of Labour Market Institutions and the mechanisms to address Labour Market social and economic disequilibria.
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In chapter three, the book provides notes on Labour Market Institutions such as Collective Bargaining, Trade Unions, Employers’ Associations, the National Labour Commission, Labour Department and Labour Inspections and Mechanisms for resolving labour-related disputes under the Labour Act, 2003, Act 651.
The spirit of this new Labour Law, 2003, Act 651 is discussed. This is crucial because without attention to the purpose and spirit of the Act, the stronger player in the Labour Market at any point in time will influence the operation of the law to the detriment of the weaker resulting in industrial disharmony and tensions; and in light of that, Opanin points to the Tripartite and Bipartite Labour Institutions as a platform for building consensus among parties to avoid or manage disputes and to handle difficult issues of mutual interest among parties.
Chapters four and five deal with notes on social protection and compensation for health and safety breaches as well as social security and retirement respectively. Among others, there is a thorough discussion of the law on workmen’s compensation with practical examples.
Chapter six treats the very interesting subject of May Day. It traces the history of May Day from the decisions of the International Socialist Congress to the resolution of the Federation of Organised Trade and Labour Unions for eight hours work per day leading to the events of the Hay-Market Square Massacre in Chicago, USA. This, one would hope, might continue to positively inspire labour to quadruple its efforts at protecting jobs and improving conditions in a fast-changing world of work in an already difficult economy.
This book, which will be launched at the British Council Auditorium, Accra, on February 4, 2016, is clearly an invaluable contribution to Ghana’s development.