Job creation, not lower inflation - TUC

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) says the 2013 budget statement has not made adequate provision for job creation.

Commenting on the budget statement which was delivered, debated and approved by parliament, leaders of the TUC chided successive governments for making job creation a key element in their political campaigns but reneging on their responsibility when they win power.

In a seven page document signed by the Secretary General of TUC, Kofi Asamoah, the workers’ union is asking government to shift attention from attaining single digit inflation to job creation in order to alleviate poverty in the country.

“During elections, politicians and political parties seeking political offices tend to prioritise employment creation. Party manifestos, including that of the ruling NDC always make employment creation their main policy focus. But as has always been the case in the last three decades, attention is shifted away from employment creation once political power is secured,” the statement said.

He said the focus by successive governments towards attaining fiscal consolidation and single digit inflation at the detriment of job creation is unsustainable.

Kofi Asamoah said the poor Ghanaian cannot be made to suffer for the government’s “unsustainable deficits” caused by “unproductive spending” especially during election years.

"In the absence of clear initiatives, what the budget offers is palliatives that fail to effectively address the real issues relating to employment," he added.

The workers union is also calling for a review of the National Youth Employment Programme now the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Programme.

He said their assessment of the programme in 2009 indicates that participants were paid below the national minimum wage and had no access to social security.

The workers union suggested that the programme be shifted to the Ministry of Employment where it “we consider as its natural home".