By Julius K. Satsi/Linda Ngissah, GNA
Accra, July 2, GNA – The National Labour
Commission (NLC) on Tuesday urged employers in the country to engage persons
with the right qualifications and to clearly spell out their conditions of
service to reduce disputes.
Mr Ofosu Asamoah, the Executive Secretary of
the NLC, speaking at a workshop organised by the Ghana Employers’ Association
(GEA) in Accra, said employers should make a good assessment of potential
employees by knowing and examining their capabilities.
He said when initial assessments were done
before any dispute came up, it would be easier to negotiate terms as the first
step to resolve disputes in an organisational setting.
Mr Asamoah urged the employers to desist
from engaging relatives, especially those who were not qualified for the position.
He noted that many employers hired people
who have affiliations with them but not because they qualified for the job,
adding that such people usually did not have the requisite knowledge on the
demands of the job, which could create disputes.
Mr Alex Frimpong, the Chief Executive
Officer of GEA, in his address said disputes were inevitable at the workplace
but the most important thing to do when disputes came up was to resolve them
amicably.
He said the workshop was meant to sensitise
employers on the existing laws and also help them to understand the clear
procedure adopted by the Labour Act towards dispute resolution at the
workplace.
Mr Frimpong said disputes could be very
expensive and that it could create problems for an organisation, adding that
there was the need for employers to lay down measures to reduce disputes at the
workplaces.
On his part, Justice Peter K. Ababio, a
Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, said that the Labour Law had set out the
types of termination of employment to guide organisations in settling disputes.
He said section 62 of the Labour Act states
that a termination of a worker’s employment was fair if the contract employment
was terminated by the employer when the worker was incompetent or lacked the
qualification in relation to the work for which he/she was employed.
Justice Ababio said a worker’s employment
was terminated unfairly if the only reason for the termination was that he/she
has joined, intends to join or had seized to be a member of a trade union or intends
to take part in the activities of a trade union.
Mr Joshua Ansah, the Deputy Secretary
General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said “as organised labour, as trade
unions, and as workers, we would continue to work hand in hand with our
employers so that we can together continue developing the workplace that will
affect the development of this country.”
He said employers ought to demonstrate good
leadership by resolving disputes internally and not let them degenerate.
He urged Government to adequately resource
Labour Department, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, and
Inspectorate Division to enable carry out their mandates as expected and
further contribute towards reducing disputes at the workplace.
GNA
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