Employment and Labour relations minister designate, Ignatius Baffour Awuah has vowed to sanction employers who defy rules relating to the treatment of casual workers in the country.
“If there are any such issues, I suggest those affected get to the offices and lodge an official complaint. Investigations will follow and whoever is culpable will be punished,” he stated.
Mr. Awuah has however lamented how the lack of openness among victims continue to hamper efforts to address the issue.
He made the assertions during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Tuesday.
“If you are in the situation and you do not allow people to know, it becomes very difficult for another to imagine the problems at hand. We have offices that are responsible for addressing these issues.”
The issue of casual workers has sprung up on many occasions as most victims complain of not gaining their rightful benefits among others.
A labour analyst Austin Gamey, however, believes most contract workers are ignorant of their rights and benefits and thus end up been cheated by most organizations that employ them.
Under Ghana’s labour laws such workers are entitled to at least rest periods, paid public holidays, night work and sick leave, irrespective of whatever terms agreed by the parties among others.
The law also specifies that a temporary worker who is employed by the same employer for a continuous period of six months and more must be treated as a permanent worker and in that case such a worker must have a written statement which shows their date of appointment, job title, wage rate and payment interval, work hours, overtime payment, annual leave, conditions relating to incapacity for work due to injury or sickness, length of termination notice required by the worker and employer and details of social security or pension scheme.
But Mr. Awuah assures that his outfit will revisit the issue and deal with all concerns critically.
“What is wrong is wrong and it should not be encouraged to continue. we will confront that particular problem and make sure that it becomes a thing of the past.”
Meanwhile Ignatius Baffour Awuah says monitoring committees will be set up to ensure all companies work within the law accordingly.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
