In a quest to enhance industrial peace across the country, human resource managers, industrial relations officers and labour union leaders in key sectors of the economy have undergone a critical training for the effective application of Ghana’s Labour Act.
The training is part of efforts to halt the poor application of the Labour Act 2003, (Act 651) and Collective Agreements which has led to the frequent labour unrest across organisations and sectors.
Organised by the Gamey and Gamey, about 40 participants including HR and Industrial Relations Managers, and local union leaders from the banking and finance, hospitality, telecommunications, insurance, and manufacturing sectors, were educated on the intricacies of the Labour Act and it’s practical application.
They were also offered the missing skills required guide management and labour in promoting productive and peaceful industrial relations.
The two-day training had theme, “The Full Knowledge, Understanding and Skills in the Application of Labour Act 2003, Act 651.”
Among other outcomes, the participants gained the skills to facilitate effective communication at the workplace, prevent labour disputes by adhering to the right application of the Labour law and collective agreements to promote Labour-Management Cooperation.
Addressing the participants, the lead facilitator, Mr Austin Gamey, Chief Executive Officer of Gamey and Gamey Group, bemoaned the inadequate practical understanding of the Labour Act, which has resulted in its misapplication, adding that the trend has to change for the benefit of organisations.
As HR, industrial relations and union leaders, he said it is their critical responsibility to ensure that the laws, rules and agreements were followed in dealing with staff issues.
According to him, many Labour disputes have emerged because either management or workers failed to perform one task or the other in contravention of the Labour Act or their collective agreement.
“The Labour Act is the best law we have. If we are to adhere to it and apply the provisions in the right way, we will not have any Labour strike in this country,” he said.
As a key elements in human resource management and industrial relations, Mr. Gamey advised the participants to be attentive to the importance of the Collective Agreements which he described as more powerful than the Labour Act.
Section 105 (4) of the Labour Act states that “The rights conferred on a worker by a collective agreement shall not be waived by the worker and, if there is any conflict between the terms of a collective agreement and the terms of any contract not contained in the collective agreement, the collective agreement shall prevail unless the terms of the contract are more favourable to the worker; and it is immaterial whether or not the contract was concluded before the collective agreement.”
Benjamin Nana Appiah/ www.adrdaily.com
