A standoff has erupted between the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, and the acting Chief Labour Officer over the latter’s reassignment.
While the Chief Labour Officer, Mr. Eugene Korletey is said to have rejected his reassignment to the position of Ministerial/Technical Advisor on Labour at the Ministry, the Minister insists he vacates his post.
Mr. Korletey is said to have rejected the job because he considers the reassignment as a demotion, and that the Minister is not clothed with the mandate to conduct such reassignment.
He insists that it is only the Head of Civil Service who has the mandate to assign the Chief Labour Officer, and not the Minister.
According to sources, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) is backing Mr Korletey, and has advised him against leaving his current post. The Association has expressed concern over the absence of a job description and career progression structure for the new position.
The standoff has created a leadership vacuum at the Labour Department as the deputy Chief Labour Officer retired in June this year.
The Labour Department, which is one of the major arms of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, has the mandate to carry out functions of labour administration in Ghana, and is mandated by the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) to advise the Minister on labour management issues.
Sources at the Labour Department and the Ministry say the dispute is creating challenges in the relationship between the Ministry and the Department.
Officials at the Ministry are tight lipped over the issue, but a source at the Ministry indicated to ADR Daily that the decision of the Minister may be a result of many anonymous letters he has received about the Chief Labour Officer.
In spite of its essential role in the national economy and government setup, the department is one of the most poorly resourced public entities.
By Edmund Mingle/ adrdaily.com
