Ghana revives bilateral agreement with Italy

Government would revive the Bilateral Agreement on Migration to enable Ghanaian workers in the Agricultural Sector work in Italy.

Nii Armah Ashietey, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, after the Italian Ambassador Laura Carpini paid a courtesy call on him.

He said plans were advanced to finalize the said Bilateral Agreement, which would enable Ghanaians to work legally in Italy.

“The Bilateral Agreement, which was started in 2011, has still not been finalized. The agreement would allow Ghanaian migrant workers to work in the Agricultural sector of Italy”, he said.

He said the two countries have also discussed the expansion of circular migration programme, which would enable more Ghanaians to work in the Agriculture sector in Italy.

The Minister said the government of Italy has continually supported Ghana in its strides to manage and organize Labour Migration, saying “major efforts have been made which could not be swept under the carpet.”

He said, the AENEAS 2006 Labour Migration Project was set up with the objective of establishing proper mechanisms for migration management through the national assessment of labour migration policies, capacity building activities and information campaigns on risks of irregular migration in some African countries including Ghana.

The project has the theme: “Facilitating a Coherent Migration Management Approach in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Libya by promoting Legal Migration and Preventing Further Irregular Migration.”

He said the project was a clear example of the key role played by the Italian Government in collaboration with the European Commission in funding the initiative. He said the Project culminated in the training programmes for some staff of the Labour Department and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.

Nii Ashietey said the Italian government had provided some equipment to the Labour Department to assist it to manage labour migration, and appealed for further assistance to enable them to surmount the ever expanding challenges.

The minister disclosed that, they would organize a study tour to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Italy in order to strengthen the bilateral relationship that exists.