Labour Commission must be impartial - Kpoh

Accra, April 27, GNA - Mr Napoleon Kpoh, General Secretary of Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) on Thursday urged the National Labour Commission (NLC) to stay focused, maintain its neutrality and impartiality in the adjudication of cases brought before it, so as to achieve the objectives for which it was set up. "In so doing, the commission will earn the trust, confidence and respect of all stakeholders in order to leave a legacy of pioneer excellence," he said at a symposium organised in Accra by the NLC to commemorate its first anniversary.

He said in view of the strong and sometimes partisan contending interests in labour-management or employer-employee relations, it is crucially that, the NLC insulates itself individually and collectively as a body from any form of personal attachments, emotions and or sentiments that might tend to colour its rulings or judgement. It was on the theme, "Labour-Management Co-operation As a Tool for Industrial Peace and Increased Productivity".

Mr Kpoh said the rulings or decisions of the commission served as slippery grounds upon which it had to tread cautiously in order not to stumble and fall and urged the government, employers and labour to refrain from interfering with the Commission in its adjudication of issues brought before it.

On representation of workers before the Commission, Mr Kpoh said, the commission's assertion that unless Trade union was granted a Bargaining Certificate, it could not represent its unionised members in dispute with their employers, was unfair, unjust, smacks of discrimination against workers and had no legal basis and ought to be reviewed.

"On the other hand however, the Commission allows employers to be represented by lawyers who have no Collective Bargaining Certificates. Again, if the same workers come to the Commission with someone called a 'Consultant' the Commission allowed him to represent the workers even though those consultants have no Collective Bargaining Certificates and cannot even be issued with one under the law. "This is an industrial relations paradox for which the Commission owes the public explanation," he added.

Mr Kpoh said however, the process began by the labour Department to engage all stakeholders in determining the procedure to follow in issuing Collective Bargaining Certificates to deserving Unions was a step in right direction and should be expedited to provide a boost to a just, fair and peaceful industrial atmosphere to promote productivity.

Dr Kofi Baku, a Lecturer in Law at the University of Ghana, Legon, said the development of harmonious relations between capital and labour for increased productivity, increased profitability and the enhancement of job creation was one of the over-riding aims of Labour Act, which was the legal framework within which labour relations were to be managed. He said to realise this principle there must be clear understanding and appreciation of the duties and responsibilities placed on the parties through sensitisation and education.

Dr Baku said though this sensitisation and educational programmes were successful and satisfactory, there remained a lot to be done because several of the players in the small-scale and informal sectors have not been reached and were therefore not aware of their duties and responsibilities under the Act.

"There are also several key players in the formal sector, especially middle to senior Labour Inspectors, innocent bystanders who sometimes shape opinion, Media, Opinion leaders, Shop Stewards, Floor Managers and Foremen needed to be reached to shape their old way of doing things," he said.

He said the labour Act had inaugurated a new era, which sought to bring co-operation and understanding between management and labour to promote productivity and increased wages.

Mr Joseph Aryitey, Chairman of the National Labour Commission, said as the Commission continued its education on the law, it requested the social partners to also assist in the education of their members as well as complement its efforts by subjecting their peers to a review of their actions that were not consistent with the law.

He said promotion of effective labour-management cooperation, facilitating and settlement of industrial disputes were some of the key functions of the Commission and he commended the social partners for their support and cooperation during the first challenging year of the Commission.

Mr Aryitey said labour-management cooperation could take hold when employers saw the need to take the necessary steps to create a congenial atmosphere where partnership between them would be possible. "It is important to underscore the fact that basic ingredients of cooperation between labour and management would involve, among others, sharing information, brainstorming together, creating opportunities for both sides to review operational plans, learn and put positive learning into practice.

'The above functions can become part of the human resource industrial relations environments of an enterprise if the philosophy and style of the management moves away from direction and control towards consensus and commitment," he said. Mrs Rose Karikari Annang, Executive Director, Ghana Employers Association, called for a flexible "learnership wages" to create adequate jobs for the youth.

She said where management-labour relations were full of mistrust and intimidation; productivity goes down and stressed the need to build management-labour relations that thrived on trust, unity and congenial environment.

Mr Adu Amankwah, Secretary General of Trades Union Congress, said work culture and conditions that motivate people for the input of their work played an important role in promoting productivity. He accused the NLC for coming out too quickly to give pronouncements on issues of disputes without studying carefully what brought about the dispute.

"Instead of the commission focussing on the limitations on the part of management that led to workers unrest, it turns to look at the illegalities of workers strike actions," he said and asked the commission to be more guarded in pronouncing issues that were brought before it or might come before it. Mr Amankwah pledged the TUC's readiness to work with other stakeholders to push productivity and cordial industrial relations forward.