Stakeholders in the labour and employment industry have called on Ghanaian labour unions to merge and negotiate for better working conditions for their members.
Currently the main umbrella organization for labour unions in Ghana; Trades Union Congress; has about 21 affiliate unions.
According to some of the stakeholders, the plight of Ghanaian workers will continue getting worse if the various worker’s unions in the country do not merge to strengthen their ability to negotiate.
Associate Professor at the Department of Labour and Human Resource Studies Akua Britwum, who made this call was speaking at a forum on Mergers in Trade Unions organized by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the TUC.
He argued that one of the main reasons for the call for mergers is the growing change in the status of Ghanaian workers in the private sector from permanent staff to contract or casual workers.
However, the TUC has warned employers to desist from such acts since it is an infringement on the country’s labour laws.
Prof Akua Britwum said to one way to end this challenge is to have a united front that will negotiate on their behalf.
“What has been achieved with regards to improvement in work has been because of the work of organized labour. Unfortunately, there’s a push for informal forms of work like casual work, and now the designation of workers as contractors. This is a push towards informalisation.”
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