Labour Laws apply to free zone workers - Commission

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA - The provisions of the Labour Act 651 on unionization apply to all workers in Ghana, including those employed by companies operating in the free zone, the National Labour Commission (NLC) said on Thursday.

The Commission has, therefore, warned that any free zone employer, who denied its workers the right to form a union to protect and defend their economic and social interests, was violating the Labour Act. A statement in Accra signed by Mr J. K. Bapuuroh, Executive Secretary of the Commission, explained that with the exception of the Armed Forces, the Police Service, the Prison Service and the Security and Intelligence Agencies specified under the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act 526 of 1996, the Labour Act applied to all workers and employers in Ghana.

It said since free zone companies were not exempted from the application of the Act they were subjected to its provisions. It further explained that the Free Zone Regulations 33 of Legislative Instrument 1618 of 1996 made it clear that rights and conditions of service of workers in the free zones shall be regulated by laws and conventions of the International Labour Organisation to which Ghana is a party.

"In the face of these clear provisions of the relevant laws on employment relations, claims that workers in the free zone companies have no right to unionise were unacceptable and an attempt to exploit such workers," the statement said and urged employers and workers, who had disputes over unionization, to seek the assistance of the Commission for settlement in the interest of harmonious worker-management relations.

There have been recent media reports alleging that Managements of some companies operating in the free zone were preventing their staff from unionising.