Government, Organised Labour sign MoU to build consensus on development issues

The Government, Organised Labour and Ghana Employers Association, on Thursday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Social Partnership to promote national consensus on development issues.

The 19-Member Council is expected to work towards deepening and sustaining the country’s macroeconomic gains for rapid economic growth.

The partnership, among other things, would create a platform to analyse key development issues and advice government, deliberate and make inputs into policy discourse, including the national budget, medium-term plans and the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda.

Consequently, it would provide a platform for building a sense of cohesion, trust and self-management as well as ensure frank discussions on issues to champion development.

At the signing ceremony and launch of the MoU in Accra, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, said the ultimate goal of the agreement was to solicit ideas and suggestions that would create jobs for the youth, alleviate poverty and promote economic growth.

Mr Ofori-Atta and Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, signed on behalf of Government while Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress and Mr Daniel Acheampong, President of the Ghana Employers Association, initialled for the Organised Labour. The Finance Minister said social partnership as an approach for solving national problems had been used widely around the world, saying it served as a means of leveraging collective bargaining for national economic and social development, which allowed the social partners to influence socio-economic decision-making process. Mr Ofori-Atta noted that the concept of social partnership was considered as an essential ingredient in Europe’s economic and political transformation in the post-World War II era and cited Germany, Austria, Scandinavia and Ireland as countries that used it to promote social cohesion.

“It would inculcate the culture of cooperation among workers, employers and Government to ensure industrial peace and maintain Ghana’s international competitiveness to drive industrial transformation,” Mr Ofori-Atta added.

The Minister said there was a strong partnership among the Government, Organised Labour and the Employers’ Association within the framework of the National Tripartite Committee for minimum wage determination.

However, the new social partnership would allow for formalisation of that engagement and broaden the scope beyond the narrow confines of minimum-wage setting to overall economic and social development, which would culminate in ensuring prosperity for all Ghanaians.

Dr Yaw Baah of the Trades Union Congress and Mr Acheampong of the Employers Association took turns to pledge their support towards a successful social partnership in order to consolidate the macroeconomic gains and ensure rapid economic growth.