Government committed to the welfare of workers – Osei-Mensah

Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, has reiterated the government's commitment to improve the welfare of Ghanaian workers.

He said workers were the movers of the Ghanaian economy and the government would continue to work closely with organized labour to fashion out mutually beneficial strategies that would aid the agenda of improving the lives of all Ghanaians.

Mr Osei-Mensah stated this at the 2021 May Day celebration organized at the Regional Coordinating Council in Kumasi.

This year’s May Day celebration was on the theme “Economic recovery in an era of COVID-19: The role of social partners”.

The Minister said as partners in the national development, trade unions and for that matter, workers had a crucial role to play in national economic recovery efforts especially in this era of COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Osei-Mensah stressed that the government would always work in partnership with organized labour to achieve the desired goal of equal opportunities and improvement in the lives of every Ghanaian, including all categories of workers.

He commended Ghanaian workers for their continued dedication and sacrifices towards the building of the Ghanaian economy and asked them to continue to work hard to move the economy from its present situation for the betterment of all.

The Minister reminded them of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and said the government would do all it could to reach mutually acceptable grounds in respect of their welfare and social lives.

Mr Emmanuel Dankwa, Assistant Ashanti Regional Secretary of the TUC, mentioned pensions, poor housing, delays in negotiations for national daily minimum wage and base pay for public sector workers, the 'galamsey' menace and its effect on the economy, threats of import restrictions on Ghana’s cocoa and others, as some of the concerns facing Ghanaian workers.

He said organized labour was ready to play its role in the collective effort towards national economic recovery and stressed the need for government and organized labour to work together in the spirit of cooperation and partnership.

Mr Dankwa urged the government not to ignore the social aspects of the country’s economic recovery plan and stressed the need for the government to pay special attention to social protection for the aged, children, people with disability and basic income grants for the vulnerable and people above 65 years without pension.