Ministry hands over 16 pickup trucks to public employment centres

The Minister of Employment, Labour Relations and Pensions, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, has handed over 12 pickup vehicles to public employment centres across the country.

This brings to 16, the number of vehicles presented to the centres, one each located in a region.

Also, a 32-seater bus was presented to the ministry’s transport department to address longstanding staff mobility challenges. 

During the handover ceremony at the ministry in Accra yesterday, the minister stated that the pickup vehicles would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of labour inspectors across the country.

“We have already handed over four pickup vehicles to the public employment centres in Atebubu in the Bono East Region, Odumase in the Bono Region, Twifo-Heman in the Central Region, and Konongo in the Ashanti Region.

“These other 12 are meant for places such as Bolgatanga, Wa, Walewale, Yendi, Damango, Dambai, Hohoe, Amasaman, Kenyasi, Tarkwa and Bibiani,” the Employment and Labour Relations Minister stated.

Initiative 

In an interview with the Daily Graphic after the ceremony, Mr Baffour-Awuah indicated that the initiative was to improve access and efficiency in connecting job seekers with employers. 

He acknowledged the need for reliable transportation for the ministry’s staff during official engagements. 

“It is important to improve mobility and efficiency for labour inspectors nationwide. We want persons who are also regulating the world of work, especially inspectors at the various district levels, to have an easy way of reaching their clients. That is why today we are providing to the labour office these vehicles,” the minister added.

Mr Baffour-Awuah recalled prior investments in the Labour Department, including the provision of 86 motorbikes last year, to facilitate the movement of staff at the department. 

He said the ministry had introduced a web-based portal to assist the district-level inspectors in regulating workplaces more effectively and also to help access employment services online without visiting the public employment centres. 

“We want employment services to be easy for persons looking for jobs to access,” he added, assuring the public of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the department.  

Impact

The acting Chief Labour Officer, Dawuda Ibrahim Braimah, who received the pickup vehicles, expressed gratitude on behalf of the department and gave an assurance that the vehicles would be put to proper use and be well maintained to optimise their impact on the activities of the centres.