Kufuor stresses need to reforms labour laws

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday said the government’s strive to ensure proper atmosphere and structures for smooth productivity in the economy would require modernisation in the laws that governed the work place.

In this direction, a new Labour Bill presented to Parliament should bring Ghana in line with modern thinking and International Treaties on Labour Legislation, President Kufuor said in the keynote address at this year's May Day Celebrations held at Ho in the Volta Region.

The theme for the celebration is: "Decent Work and Labour Standards; Necessary Conditions for National Development." President Kufuor said "Education, training, acquisition of new skills and mutual trust among all stakeholders are what we need to get this nation to where it should be".

The challenge for the country was for labour, employers and the government to work together to attain the goal of a truly prosperous Ghana. "Whether it is the ESB, provision of good water, electricity, good roads good housing, clean environment, good health care delivery and efficient and affordable public transport system, there is a consensus that we all should together strive for them.

"So let us not argue among ourselves as though some people are against these things. Let us rather concentrate our energies on achieving these goals as soon as possible and for all citizens," he said.

He said the government was totally committed to improving the quality of life of the people. "All we ask of the good people of Ghana is to uphold the national Constitution and to perform their economic and civic duties as good citizens. In the year 2004 they will be the best judges as to whether this government has served them well or not" he said.

President Kufuor expressed his disappointment at organised labour for not taking the lead role in trying to shape the debate on meaningful incomes and wages, a suggestion he made during last year's May Day Celebrations.

"For much of the year, all I have heard is how badly paid people are, and not much else. There have not been much said about how to increase productivity, improve work ethics, how to enlarge the economic base, which alone can lead to the extra revenue and the bigger pay cheques we all desire" he stressed.

President Kufuor told the workers that most companies in the country were in distress due to the stiff competition from abroad, "indeed some have even been ruined and others under threat".

He said over the years, the government had not been able to raise adequate revenue to balance the budget and provide basic utilities. "And because of the stunted growth in this economy, even those we call rich in Ghana seem more like poor cousins of the really rich in other parts of the sub-region".

He, therefore, appealed to stakeholders, especially the labour front not to suspect each other's motives as that would be counter productive to the fortunes of the strategic partnership that needed to be put in place for the economy to grow.