Tripartite Committee goes on retreat

Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The National Tripartite Committee (NTC) last Sunday completed a 3-day retreat at Marina Hotel, Dodowa, near Accra to ensure a peaceful determination of the national minimum wage next year. The retreat, the first of its kind, which was co-sponsored by the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Manpower Development and Employment as well as a Sigma One Corporation, a US non-governmental organisation was meant to open discussions on the 2004 minimum wage and to chart the way forward.

A statement the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment issued in Accra on Tuesday said the retreat drew about 50 social partners together.

They comprised top government officials, Ghana Employers Association led by its President, Mr Ato Ampeah and the Executives of organized labour led Mr Akwasi Adu-Amankwa.

Mr Yaw Barimah, Minister of Manpower Development and Employment said the retreat was to avoid the usual government-organized labour-employers confrontations during meetings of the tripartite committee.

He said it was regrettable that labour situation and labour related issues had not been taken seriously and that there was the need to ensure industrial peace in the country.

"The retreat was to avoid the occurrences of deadlocks at meetings and to ensure smooth transformation of the economy", the Minister said. Mr Adu-Amankwa associated himself with the concern of the Minister and added that organized labour would always press for labour matters to be treated seriously.

He said information flow among the committee members was not the best and that needed to be improved.

Papers were presented on "the Minimum Wage and Government Contract and the Ghana Price Index".