The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) has organized a one-day training for members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Labour in Accra on issues pertaining to Employment, Gender, Social Welfare, and State Enterprise.
The workshop was to sensitised the committee violence and harassment in the work place. It was also geared toward ratifying the International Labour Organization’s Convention 190.
In a speech read on behalf of the Sector Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, stated that it was critical for members to be adequately informed and made to understand the subject matter, adding that the Ministry was putting in place appropriate measures to deal with such occurrences comprehensively.
The Minister recalled that in 2019, the International Labour Conference adopted the first of its kind an ILO Violence and Harassment convention, 2019 (No. 190) and its accompanied recommendations, and therefore, places responsibility on member countries to rectify and after two member states have done so.
He said since the adoption of the C 190, over 22 countries have ratified the convention and it was incumbent on Ghana as a member state to initiate the process into the ratification.
“The instruments when ratified will provide a clear road map to prevent and address Violence and Harassment in the world of work, contribute to the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goal 5, and serve as a meaningful tool to fight against discrimination and inequality at the world of work, as well as strengthen government’s efforts in promoting Labour Migration governance, where the vulnerable migrant workers would be supported among others”, he added.
He also recounted some of the activities the ministry has undertaken to hasten the ratification process including media interaction and publicity on the C 190, Advocacy and training workshops for gender focal person on the C 190, desk review of C 190 vis- a – vis national legislations and legal opinion from the Attorney General and the likes.
In response, the Members of the Select Committee reiterated that even though they would not be stampeded to ratify the convention, it was a step in the right direction for them to familiarize themselves with the text and situate same in the socio-cultural context.
The 23 MPs advocated however that with the two recent surveys carried out by the Ministry in collaboration with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) and the German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ) into the incidence of Violence and Harassment concludes that there is the prevalence of gender violence and harassment at the world of work and commends the efforts of the Ministry to accelerates the ratification of the C 190. They
expressed happiness that the C 190 is currently before Cabinet to receive approval and they are more than ready to support the ratification and the implementation processes.
Joyce Adwoa Animia Ocran, ISD
