By Valentia Tetteh
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Employment, Labour Relations and Pensions has called for the strict enforcement of Ghana’s Labour Law and an increase in resources for agencies under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.
The call was made during a familiarisation visit to the Ministry and its key departments and agencies in Accra, as part of Parliament’s oversight mandate to assess institutional effectiveness and policy implementation in the labour sector.
The tour, led by Committee Chairman Mr. Joseph Appiah Boateng, began at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations. There, the committee was briefed on ongoing initiatives to promote decent work, employment creation, and labour market reforms.
“We believe that for the Ministry to function optimally, it must be adequately resourced. There must be deliberate efforts to strengthen labour enforcement and ensure agencies operate efficiently,” Mr. Appiah Boateng noted.
At the Department of Co-operative Societies, Acting Registrar Mr. Kwabena Apraku Yeboah identified land encroachment and inadequate staffing as major impediments to the department’s work.
“We’re facing serious land encroachment issues and we simply don’t have enough staff to extend our services across the regions,” he said.
The Committee also visited the Labour Department, where officials highlighted challenges such as low public awareness of the Labour Law, delays in claims processing, poor documentation, and weak monitoring systems.
Briefings from the Department of Factories Inspectorate and the National Labour Commission revealed similar bottlenecks, including inadequate logistics, funding constraints, and limited technical capacity.
The Committee Chairman assured the agencies of Parliament’s support in addressing these issues.
“Our mission is not only to monitor but to advocate for the reforms and resources you need to work effectively,” Mr. Appiah Boateng stressed. “We will present a report to Parliament with recommendations based on what we have seen.”
The visit forms part of Parliament’s oversight responsibilities aimed at enhancing collaboration and understanding of the operational challenges and policy priorities within Ghana’s labour sector.
