Private sector not vibrant to employ all - Unionist

Tamale, March 3, GNA - Mr. Kofi Asamoah, Deputy Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Operations, has noted that the private sector was not yet vibrant to create jobs for the large number of unemployed youth in the country.

He government officials should therefore not say that, "Government has no business in the creation of jobs".

Mr. Asamoah, who made the observation at a meeting of the District Council of Labour (DCL) in Tamale on Friday, added that, "It is not proper to consider young men selling dog chains on the streets as job creation".

The Deputy General Secretary said it was also unfair to always link wages with productivity explaining that workers could only increase production when they were regularly trained to update their skills and provided with the necessary working tools to enhance their work. He commended the government for implementing the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) and urged workers to take advantage of training opportunities at their work places to upgrade themselves. Mr. Asamoah urged government to strictly enforce the minimum wage especially in the informal sector to enable it to take more people above the poverty level.

On the re-denomination of the cedi, he called for more education on the exercise especially in the rural communities to ensure that the people understood it to save them from unscrupulous people who would like to take advantage to cheat them.