The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr Gilbert F Houngbo has paid a courtesy call on Mr Dan Acheampong, the President of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) in Accra.
The courtesy call formed part of the Director-General’s three-day working visit to Ghana as part of efforts to enhance bilateral partnership between the country and ILO.
During the Meeting, Mr Acheampong said he interpreted the Director-General’s visit as a token of their strong partnership with the ILO, which has been helping the GEA to contribute to the progress of the decent work agenda.
He said based on this partnership, the GEA had received critical support from the ILO, and this had augmented the efforts of the Association to implement critical evidence-based research, advocacy, and capacity building activities for employers in Ghana.
He cited that through the Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ACT/EMP), the ILO had supported GEA over the past years to execute projects earmarked at the elimination of child labour and HIV/AIDS, promotion of collective bargaining and settlement of industrial disputes, maternity protection, skills development, and advocacy for policy reforms at the central and local government levels.
“These activities have helped greatly to enhance the visibility and resilience of our Association,” Mr Acheampong said.
He reiterated that the collaboration had also supported the GEA to build a more cordial and stable relationship with organised labour and government.
He said the GEA was a key player in the Ghanaian Social Dialogue Space; stating that, “we firmly believe that social dialogue is the panacea to sustainable industrial harmony, business expansion, investment attraction, productivity growth and decent job creation”.
Going forward into 2023, Mr Acheampong said the Association was seeking the support of the ILO to undertake important actions such as the Promotion of Sustainable Enterprises, the Elimination of Violence and Harassment at the workplace and support for informal enterprises to leverage on the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Mr Huongbo called for enhanced social dialogue to find the right balances in solving the current economic crisis in Ghana.
He said that addressing the economic challenge would go a long way to protect employers from the spillovers of the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic challenges including inflationary pressures within the supply chain.
Mr Alex Frimpong, the Chief Executive Officer of the GEA said the visit of ILO Director-General to the country and the GEA, demonstrated the significance of the partnership between Ghana and the ILO.