TUC lauds govt’s effort to build resilient economy
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana has commended the government for its efforts to build a resilient and job-rich economy.
Speaking at a worker delegate group meeting of the 113th International Labour Organisation meeting, the Secretary-General of the TUC, Joshua Ansah, gave the assurance that labour stood “ready to collaborate in implementing its job creation agenda”.
However, the TUC stressed that its cooperation would never come at the expense of workers’ welfare.
Secretary-general
The TUC Secretary-general said trade unions in the country had remained steadfast in their efforts to ensure that the principle that sustainable economic development is unattainable without decent jobs, respect for fundamental rights at work and inclusive growth as captured in the director-general’s report titled, Jobs, Rights and Growth: Reinforcing the Connection.
Mr Ansah emphasised that the principle was not isolated priorities but were deeply interdependent and must be pursued collectively and coherently.
He said the principles of respect for fundamental rights at work and inclusive growth were not only enshrined in Ghana’s laws but also translated into the lived realities of working people.
“We have made important strides in strengthening labour legislation and promoting social dialogue.
However, workers in Ghana continue to face persistent challenges, including a rapidly expanding informal economy with inadequate protections; stagnating real wages and widening income inequality; growing employment insecurity fuelled by outsourcing and precarious contracts, and low pension coverage and insufficient retirement benefits,” he pointed out.
He told the ILO gathering that those challenges highlighted the urgent need to heed the director-general’s call to meaningfully reconnect jobs, rights and growth.
Reconnection
“This reconnection must go beyond rhetoric. It must be rooted in policy action and global solidarity,” Mr Ansah stated.
To truly reinforce the link between jobs, rights and growth, the TUC secretary-general called on the ILO to strengthen its supervisory mechanisms to better protect trade union rights and significantly increase investment in Africa’s social protection and employment systems.
He urged member countries of the ILO to carry forward with resolve and unity to ensure that no worker was left behind in the quest for a fairer and more equitable world of work.
