Press Conference/ Media Sensitisation.

The forum was used to address the Media on the rational behind the Decent Work Agenda.

Signatures were collected in support of the Decent work.

WORLD DAY FOR DECENT WORK JOINT STATEMENT BY GHANA TRADES UNION CONGRESS (TUC) & GHANA FEDERATION OF LABOUR (GFL), READ BY BROTHER KOFI ASAMOAH, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF GHANA TUC ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008 AT THE GHANA INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTRE

The trade union movement in Ghana today (October 7) joins other organized workers in Africa and around the world to celebrate this historic World Day for Decent Work, the first of its kind in global trade union work. Our gathering here this morning, therefore, is in recognition and support for the global day of Decent Work.

This day provides an unparalleled opportunity for trade unions and organizations interested in Decent Work, all around the world, to join a broad global mobilization involving a large number of people and a wide range of activities to push for the Decent Work Agenda. It is also a great opportunity for workers and other social partners to reflect on the achievements or otherwise of the Decent Work Pilot Programme in its over all quest to shape the socio-economic policy environment and contribute to poverty reduction.

DECENT WORK AGENDA
At the 89th International Labour Conference in June 1999, the ILO launched its Decent Work Agenda. The DWPP was then established in October 2000 with the objective of operationalising decent work at country level, where its development and ownership rely on tripartite dialogue and national ownership with the activities specific to national context and policy priorities. This programme has been operational in a number of countries such as Ghana, Bangladesh, Denmark and Morocco with a 3 to 4- year time horizon, with an inbuilt flexibility for review as deemed necessary.

Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives – their aspirations for opportunity in employment and income; rights, voice and recognition; family stability and personal development, fairness and gender equality. Ultimately these various dimensions of decent work underpin peace in communities and society. Decent work reflects the concerns of governments, workers and employers, who together provide the ILO with its unique tripartite identity.

Decent work is captured in four strategic objectives:

• To achieve fundamental principles and rights at work and international labour standards;
• To promote greater employment and income opportunities for both men and women;
• To aid in extending social protection and social security; and
• To promote social dialogue. These objectives hold for all workers, women and men, in both formal and informal economies; in wage employment or working on their own account; in the fields, factories and offices; and in their home or in the community.

The World Day for Decent Work is being celebrated under the following sub-themes:

• Rights at work
• Solidarity and
• Ending poverty and inequality

The first sub-theme deals with the rights of working women and men. Action on this theme includes the fundamental rights to organising, recognition and collective bargaining, protection from discrimination, forced labour and child labour, as well as the right to a healthy and safe working environment. It also includes the rights of all citizens to democracy, decent jobs, equality and quality public services. Indeed, quality public services are an integral part of the trade union movement’s national agenda in Ghana. The second theme, solidarity, has to do with practical action involving cooperation between affiliates in different countries, on a bilateral or multilateral basis. This involves activities in support of trade unions facing attacks by governments or employers, practical assistance to unions needing support for their campaign and organizational work, and building up actions within existing trade union joint work with other groups, such as on HIV-AIDS, human rights or gender, racism, migration and so on.

The third theme links up with the world campaign against poverty, as well as global trade, aid and investment issues. The world campaign against poverty is aimed at ending poverty worldwide by increasing development aid, cancelling external debt and promoting fair trade and better global governance, including the full respect of human and trade union rights.

For organized labour, and many other workers, in Ghana, the priority themes for this day are well chosen and timely against the backdrop of the labour movement consistent struggle, in various campaigns and activities, for the elimination of Decent Work Deficits in all forms of work.

Rights at work

Ghanaian workers have continued to contribute to the fortunes of Ghana over the last 5 decades or so, and have secured varying compensation for their contribution, with many rights being abused in the world of work. To overcome some of these challenges, workers need to be empowered to participate and to be represented in the decision-making processes affecting their lives. Workers need voice at work through their freely chosen representatives, the opportunity to join a union and have their collective bargaining rights recognized, to enjoy freedom from discrimination and forced labour, and the opportunity to place their children at school rather than in work. These basic rights are enshrined in the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

In line with this, it is important to note that, even though the labour Act 651, Act 2003, section 79, allows for freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining, some employers in Ghana have resorted to several undemocratic tactics to frustrate workers from freely joining trade unions of their choice let alone to create a congenial atmosphere for collective labour negotiations. The unwillingness of employers to negotiate in good faith as required under section 97 (1) of the labour Act poses a serious threat to the attainment of decent work. Again, social dialogue structures and processes provide a means for workers’ rights to be protected and advanced, while promoting better living and working conditions. They ensure popular participation in public policy, help to combat social exclusion and promote consensus-building, democracy, social stability and peace. However, first and foremost, workers’ rights to participate in decision-making processes affecting their lives at their work place or in society must be recognised. Organised Labour believes that, to achieve Decent Work, Government should decentralize tripartism to cover the regions and districts as a means of broadening its scope of inclusiveness in decision making process. The National Tripartite Committee must be well-resourced and empowered by way of setting-up permanent secretariats to provide appropriate policy direction to labour market stakeholders in the country. We acknowledge initiative taken in that direction by social partners in Ghana and ask for extension to the regions. We remind ourselves once again of a recent court ruling that, "employers can sack without reason" and its implications to security of employment, industrial harmony and labour relations in Ghana, which are prerequisites for decent work, there is the need for setting and enforcing standards as well as ensuring national-level compliance. In this context, the trade union movement once again call on government to begin the process to ratify ILO Convention 158 which provides protection for employment without further delay so as to promote the healthy industrial relations climate that the Labour Act seeks to establish.

It would be recalled the Court, presided over by Mrs. Irismay Brown ruled that the Labour Act, 2003 does not compel employers to provide reasons when they terminate the employment of employees. This clearly does not protect workers’ rights. For working people one of the most important aspects of social protection is the fundamental question of employment and security of employment. Organised Labour notes with grave concern that the challenge of mass employment that faces large sections of our population, particularly the youth, negates the democratic policy of social protection for all. Without work people cannot sustain the basic conditions of life as human beings. Their fundamental rights to life are thereby compromised.

Ending poverty and inequality

Poverty reduction relies on different factors: employment creation, social dialogue, development of social protection systems and the fight against corruption, whilst equity can be realised through effective involvement of all in decision making and fair and balanced distribution of the fruits of growth. Largely the concept of decent work encompasses these factors which are central to reducing poverty, and as a means for achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. We all, as partners in development, have an obligation to address the issue of poverty in a meaningful way, or face the prospect of being continuously caught up in this social canker, and labour wish to add that to confront this challenge, the search for Decent Work is not a choice, it is a national and global task.

We strongly believe that this problem can be addressed through a comprehensive national employment agenda work out to link up with all sectors and effective private sector involvement. The recent National Youth Employment Programme is commendable. Whiles we applaud government for the introduction of this Programme and other employment generating initiatives, we are also concerned about the appropriate conditions attached to such employment creation. Government should endeavour to adopt and integrate Core Labour Standards, which includes the freedom to associate and the right to collective bargaining in any contractual arrangements. Organized labour will like to draw the attention of government to the rapid expansion of the informal economy and to request that the following measures are put in place to ensure extension of social protection to those trapped in the sector:

• Develop appropriate policies to regulate and develop the informal economy
• Ensure labour laws compliance in the formal and informal economy
• Support Small and Medium Enterprises in access to credit, easy registration etc.
• Revive and Strengthen Co-operatives in the informal economy. Organised Labour therefore, strongly supports progressively constructed systems that extend the rights and protection of the formal economy to all workers, thereby effectively helping to formalise the “informal economy”.

Inspection and enforcement of the laws and regulations in particular have over the years suffered considerably. We accordingly call once again for the revamping of the Labour Inspectorate through adequate training of personnel and massive recruitment of new personnel and their training and the provision of the necessary resources for the Labour Department to carry out its important functions effectively. On the issue of inequality, we think the issue is not about resources or growth; what is lacking in Ghana is a conducive policy milieu with fair distributive mechanisms that would channel an adequate share of the wealth created in the economy into shared prosperity and gender equality objectives. The level of wages and salaries in the public sector is not the best despite some recent increases. Majority of workers in Ghana are earning salaries that are not “living wages”. This and widening income inequalities are signs of decent work deficits. We are therefore looking forward, and in deed eagerly waiting without fail, to the single spine salary structure becoming operational, come January, 2009, to establish fairness and equity in the public sector salary reforms.

Solidarity
Common objectives are achievable through shared actions. The international trade union movement was founded on solidarity and has survived over the years despite all the trials on solidarity. The current challenges to decent work demands teamwork and cooperation amongst labour and between labour and other civil society organizations at both the local and global level. The trade union movement in Ghana would continue to collaborate with affiliates in different countries and CSOs both within and outside Ghana to kick against unfair processes of globalization that do not promote decent work. Mention can be made of our position with regards to the EPAs and the recent Civil Society Aid Effectiveness parallel conference.

Conclusion
We believe that decent work is central to eradication of poverty, improving the lives of women and men and enabling people to live in peace and dignity as captured in the MDGs.The call for decent work, is also a call for Government to ratify and respect ILO-set standards and conventions which ensure decent work.

As we join our fellow comrades worldwide in observing this crucial day, we remind government of its promise to designate few courts in the Greater Accra Region to exclusively adjudicate on Industrial Relations disputes emanating from the National Labour Commission to ensure fair and expeditious settlement of Labour grievances.

Decent work requires a comprehensive set of policy perspectives and interventions geared towards lifting people out of poverty, and providing them with sustainable livelihoods The trade union movement will on its own pragmatically work through the following approaches to promote the course of decent work in Ghana:

• Influence key macro-economic policy frameworks to ensure there is economic growth with jobs at the heart of our economic plan that will promote decent work issues.
• Address decent work deficits in those sectors and activities where the vulnerable are mostly engaged, particularly in the informal sectors of our economy and
• Seek gender equality in trade union structures, policies and activities and a significant increase in the number of women trade union members and women in elective positions.

We thank you for your attention,
LONG LIVE THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT IN GHANA,
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS SOLIDARITY,