Organised labour hold day of decent work

ORGANISED labour in Ghana joined its counterparts in other parts of the world last Tuesday to celebrate World Day for Decent Work.
The day provided the opportunity for trade unions and organisations interested in decent work the world over to join a broad global mobilisation of people to champion the decent work agenda.
A joint statement by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) to observe the day said at the 89th International Labour Conference in June 1999, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) launched its decent work agenda with the objective of operationalising decent work at the country level where development relied on tripartite dialogue.
It said the programme had been operational in a number of countries, including Ghana, Bangladesh, Denmark and Morocco, with a three to four-year time horizon.
The statement captured decent work in four strategic objectives, which were to achieve fundamental principles and rights at work and international labour standards; to promote employment and income opportunities for both men and women; to aid in extending social protection and social security and the promotion of social dialogue.
“These objectives hold for all workers — women and men — in both the formal and informal economies, in wage employment or working on their own account in the fields, factories, offices and in the communities,” it added.
The day was celebrated on the themes, “Rights at Work”, “Solidarity” and “Ending Poverty and Inequality”.
Explaining the themes, the statement noted that Ghanaian workers had continued to contribute to the fortunes of the country in the past five decades and had secured varying compensation for their contribution, with many rights being abused in the world of work.
To surmount those challenges, the statement called for the empowerment of workers to participate in and be represented in the decision-making process affecting their lives.
In line with that, it noted that although the Labour Act 651, Act 2003 Section 79, allowed for freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, some employers in Ghana resorted to several undemocratic tactics to frustrate any moves to freely join trade unions of their choice.
On poverty reduction, it said poverty alleviation relied on employment creation, social dialogue, the development of social protection systems and the fight against corruption, while equity could be realised through effective involvement of all in decision making, as well as a fair and balanced distribution of the fruits of growth.
While commending the government for creating the National Youth Employment Programme and other employment generating initiatives, it expressed concern over the appropriate conditions attached to such employment creation.
The statement called for collaboration among trade union movements outside Ghana to kick against the unfair processes of globalisation that did not promote decent work