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Ghana - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Accra

 

CLIMATE

Tropical climate: warm and comparatively dry along the southeast coast; hot and humid in the southwest; and hot and dry in the north.

 

LANGUAGES

English (official) and African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Ghana’s legal system is based on English common law and customary law. Ghana has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Ghanaian Cedi (1 USD = 8,010.10 GHC as of April 15, 2002).

 

GHANA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

GHANA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Accra

6th and 10th Lanes

798/1

Accra, Ghana

Telephone: [233] (21) 776601

Fax: [233] (21) 775747

http://usembassy.state.gov/ghana/

 

Embassy of Ghana at Washington D.C.

3512 International Drive N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 686-4520

Fax: (202) 686-4527

http://www.ghana-embassy.org/

 

GHANA - HOLIDAYS

GHANA – LEAVE

Maternity Leave: 12 weeks – 50% of pay (paid by employer).

 

GHANA - MINIMUM AGE

The law sets a minimum employment age of 15 years and prohibits night work and certain types of hazardous labor for those under 18 years of age.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Ghana – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

GHANA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The daily minimum wage is 5,500 cedis (approximately $.78), which is considered to be insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a single wage earner and family. Trade unions argue that an eventual minimum of 7,050 cedis a day (approximately $1.00) would provide a living wage to workers.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Ghana – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

GHANA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

GHANA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides for freedom of association. This right is restricted formally by the Trades Union Ordinance, which confers broad powers on the Government to refuse to register a trade union, and by the Industrial Relations Act (IRA), which governs trade union activities; however, the Government has not interfered with the right of workers to associate in labor unions and has encouraged pluralism in labor organizations. The IRA governs trade unions and their activities. The percentage of workers belonging to unions appears to be decreasing from 9 percent in 1998 as more of the workforce enters the informal sector where there is no union activity. The Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare has estimated that 86 percent of the work force is employed in the informal sector, and that number is expected to increase. The Ghana Federation of Labor (GFL) is intended to serve as an umbrella organization for several other labor unions, which were either previously part of or not encompassed by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The TUC, the largest labor organization in the country, consists of 17 national unions.

 

Led by experienced union leaders, the TUC has been a vocal and constructive critic of the Government's economic policies. Civil servants have their own union, the Civil Servants Association, which operates outside of the TUC umbrella.

 

The law recognizes a right to strike, but there have been no legal strikes since independence. Under the IRA, the Government established a system of settling disputes, first through conciliation, then through arbitration. Parties in a dispute may request compulsory arbitration. A union may call a legal strike if the Government does not call for formal arbitration. However, no union has ever gone through the complete process. There were numerous unsanctioned strike actions during the year, none of which met the requirements for a legal strike detailed in the IRA. The IRA prohibits retribution against strikers, and this law is enforced. On May 2, Accra textile traders were told that they could not hold a demonstration to protest a textile price hike because they lacked a police permit. Instead they presented a petition to the Government on the issue.

 

On March 19, police used rubber bullets to disperse a group of workers who were blockading the factory at the Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company (GTMC) in order to prevent co-workers, who were part of a rival union, the Textile Garment and Leather Employees Union (TEGLU), from entering the GTMC factory. In April two members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Unions (ICU) were sentenced to 6 months in jail for "being on a premises for an unlawful purpose." On April 7, 2000, they had entered the grounds of Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) to address workers and convince them to leave TEGLU in favor of the ICU. A tribunal ruled that the action of the two ICU members actions were contrary to the country's labor laws.

 

In July and August, the Polytechnic Teachers Association (POTAG) went on strike over salaries.

 

There was no investigation into the security forces use of water cannons on thousands of trade union members demonstrating in Accra for an increase in the minimum wage in 2000.

 

The Government convened a committee to investigate reports that a gold-miners' strike in May 1999 was instigated by persons not employed by the mine. The committee completed its report in September 1999, but the conclusions were not made public by year's end.

 

On April 2, approximately 600 workers from Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Limited (GCD) staged a peaceful demonstration at the company's premises in Akwatia, Eastern Region, to protest plans for the company's divestiture.

 

Unions have the right to affiliate with international bodies. The TUC is affiliated with the Organization of African Trade Union Unity headquartered in Accra and also is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The law protects workers from employer interference and their right to organize and administer their unions. The IRA provides a framework for collective bargaining and some protection against antiunion discrimination. Trade unions engage in collective bargaining for wages and benefits for both private and state-owned enterprises without government interference. However, the Government, labor, and employers negotiate together through a tripartite commission to set minimum standards for wages and working conditions. The law requires employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination to reinstate workers fired for union activities. No union leaders have been detained in recent years for union or other activities.

 

On August 22, POTAG called off a 4-week strike in order to resume negotiations with the Government over a salary dispute.

 

On October 1, workers from DL Steel Limited demonstrated to protest management's intention to close the company without proper negotiations with the workers. The company reached an agreement on severance packages with the ICU, but the workers had rejected the settlement. The workers appealed to the Minister of Trade and Industry, but no further action was taken by year's end.

 

A 2000 trade union demonstration resulted from trade unions' accusations that they had not been consulted adequately in the Government's deliberations on the minimum wage. The Government argued that the unions had been included in tripartite dialog on the issue.

 

On September 11, the Minister of Manpower Development and Employment stated that there had been 22 industrial actions involving 12,830 workers in the first 8 months of the year, costing the country 39,261 man-days of labor. Most actions involved demands for higher wages and better benefits.

 

There is legislation that authorizes export processing zones (EPZ's), and a few EPZ's are in operation. Existing labor law applies in any EPZ, including the right to organize.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including forced and bonded labor by children; however, approximately 100 women and girls are bound to shrines in the Volta Region through the localized Trokosi system and perform limited servitude for limited periods.

 

It is difficult to determine the extent to which forced and bonded labor by children is practiced.

 

The country is both a source and a destination country for trafficked children.

 

There have been newspaper reports of children being sold into slavery for either sexual exploitation or labor, such as 10- to 12-year-old boys toiling in the service of fisherman in exchange for a yearly remittance to their families. A 1999 report described this practice as rampant in 156 fishing villages along the Afram River and settlements along the Volta Lake in the Afram plains. However, there were no reports during the year that children were sold into slavery; the practice appears to involve informal servitude, often with the consent of their parents. The ILO continues to urge the Government to revise various legal provisions that permit imprisonment with an obligation to perform labor for offenses that are not countenanced under ILO Convention 105.

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The law sets a minimum employment age of 15 years and prohibits night work and certain types of hazardous labor for those under 18 years of age. According to the 1998 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, only 11 percent of children are engaged in income-generating work; however, according to UNICEF, this study may have undercounted the number of working children because of its methodology. A 1997 World Bank study indicated that children represented 12.6 percent of the country's total work force. Approximately 80 percent of child laborers are in rural areas. In 2000 UNICEF reported that approximately 60 percent of children in the labor force in 1997 worked in the agricultural sector, while 34 percent worked in the trade and services sector. The ILO estimated that 12 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 work. Children under 10 work as domestic laborers, porters, hawkers, miners, quarry workers; they also work in agriculture. The fishing industry on Lake Volta has a particularly high number of child laborers engaged in potentially hazardous work. According to an ILO representative, child labor in the tourism industry is also increasing. Child laborers are poorly paid and subject to physical abuse; they receive little or no health care and generally do not attend school. In practice child employment is widespread, and young children of school age often perform menial tasks during the day in the market or collect fares on local buses. An ILO survey conducted in three rural districts between 1992 and 1993 concluded that 11 percent of school-age children were employed for wages and another 15 percent work without remuneration. In 2000 the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare estimated that 18,000 children are working in Accra and 800,000 countrywide. Of those, 70 percent have no education while 21 percent only have a primary education.

 

The migration of children from rural to urban areas is increasing, due to economic hardship. Children are driven to the streets to fend for themselves, increasing child labor and the school dropout rate. Another ILO study in 1992 and 1993 found that almost 90 percent of the surveyed street children in Accra did not attend school. Observance of minimum age laws is eroded by local custom and economic circumstances that encourage children to work to help support their families. A 1996 ILO survey revealed that the economic activity of more than 75 percent of children between ages 5 and 14 takes place in the context of a family enterprise.

 

In 2000 the ILO commissioned the African Center for Human Development, a local NGO, to conduct a survey of the child labor situation. The NGO found that child labor and child trafficking are widespread in the informal labor sector, especially in larger cities and border areas. The study recommended that law enforcement officials be tasked with monitoring and combating child labor and child trafficking. In 2000 the Government established a National Steering Committee for the International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), composed of representatives from the Government, the Ghana Employer's Association, the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), the media, international organizations, and NGO's to look into child labor issues. The Committee developed the "National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labor in Ghana 2001-2002," which was published by the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment and ILO/IPEC Ghana.

 

According to government labor officials, child labor problems do not exist in the formal labor sector because "exploitive child labor" (defined as that which deprives a child of health, education, or development) is prohibited. However, child labor laws are not enforced effectively or consistently, and law enforcement officials, including judges, police, and labor officials, often are unfamiliar with the provisions of the law protecting children. District labor officers and the Social Services sub-committees of District Assemblies are charged with seeing that the relevant provisions of the law are observed. All law enforcement and judicial authorities in the country are hampered by severe resource constraints and a lack of public awareness about the problem. The Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment has more than 100 labor inspectors throughout the country responsible for monitoring companies labor practices; however, there is no record of any prosecutions for child labor resulting from these inspections. Additionally, the inspectors' efforts are concentrated only in the formal sector. All published studies and reports concur that the majority of child labor is engaged in the informal and agricultural sectors, which the inspectors do not monitor. NGO's report that children as young as age 7 work illegally as porters, domestic servants, "hawkers," rock-breakers in quarries, small-scale miners, farmers, and fishermen. They are paid poorly, if at all, and sometimes are molested or abused. They seldom receive sufficient food or health care, and do not attend school.

 

In late 1998, the President signed into law legislation to provide additional child labor protection and strengthen the punishment for violators under a comprehensive children's act. The act incorporates the existing labor legislation's minimum age for employment and prohibitions on night work and hazardous labor. In addition the legislation allows for children aged 15 years and above to have an apprenticeship whereby the craftsmen and employers have the obligation to provide a safe and healthy work environment along with training and tools. Fines and imprisonment for violators are increased considerably. In May Parliament ratified ILO Convention 182 concerning the elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

 

In February the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment, in conjunction with ILO/IPEC, issued a "National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labor in Ghana. Implementation of the IPEC began during the year; a national coordinator and steering committee were established, and the Government's statistical service was conducting a national survey of the child labor problem.

 

In 2000 the acting executive secretary of the Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) expressed concern about the increasing use of child labor in fishing enterprises, and advocated greater law enforcement of child labor laws. She appealed to parents and fishing communities to combat the practice.

 

The Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment has over 100 labor inspectors conducting approximately 400 inspections per month. However, inspectors do not look exclusively or specifically at child labor; they investigate child labor cases only as part of their overall duties and their inspections focus entirely on the formal sector. When inspectors find infractions of child labor laws, they generally inform the employers about the provisions of the law and ask them to make changes. There have been no recorded cases of prosecutions based on these inspections. Officials only occasionally punish violators of regulations that prohibit heavy labor and night work for children. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare are responsible for enforcement of child labor regulations. They visit each workplace annually and make spot checks whenever they receive allegations of violations.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor performed by children; however, during the year, international observers reported that approximately 100 girls and women were connected to Trokosi shrines. Children are trafficked into and from the country.

 

Unlike in the previous year, there were no media reports that children were sold for either sexual exploitation or labor.

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

In 1991 minimum standards for wages and working conditions were set by a tripartite commission composed of representatives of the Government, labor, and employers. On April 30, after lobbying by trade unions, the Tripartite Commission raised the daily minimum wage to $.78 (5,500 cedis), which still is considered to be insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a single wage earner and family. Furthermore, there is widespread violation of the minimum wage law. In most cases, households have multiple wage earners, and family members engage in some family farming or other family-based commercial activities. Trade unions argue that an eventual minimum of a $1.00 (7,050 cedis) a day would provide a living wage to workers.

 

The law sets the maximum workweek at 45 hours, with one break of at least 36 consecutive hours every 7 days; however, through collective bargaining the basic workweek for most unionized workers is 40 hours. In 1999 the Government began compensating extra duty hours only for overtime actually worked, in accordance with labor equity, rather than as an automatic salary supplement.

 

Occupational safety and health regulations exist, and the Labor Department of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare occasionally imposes sanctions on violators. However, safety inspectors are few and poorly trained. They take action if matters are called to their attention, but lack the resources to seek out violations. Workers have the right to withdraw themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment, although they rarely exercise this right.

 

The law protects both legal and illegal foreign workers.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

There are no laws that specifically address trafficking in persons, and trafficking in persons is a problem; however, the Government can prosecute traffickers under laws against slavery, prostitution, and underage labor. The country is a source and a destination country for trafficked persons; however, the Government is beginning to acknowledge that trafficking is a problem.

 

Trafficking is both internal and international, with the majority of trafficking in the country involving children from impoverished rural backgrounds. The most common forms of internal trafficking involves boys from the Northern Region going to work in the fishing communities in the Volta Region or in small mines in the west and girls from the north and east going to the cities of Accra and Kumasi to work as domestic helpers, porters, and assistants to local traders. In the previous year, over 100 boys reportedly were contracted out to Lake Volta fishermen.

 

GHANA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

GHANA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The law sets the maximum workweek at 45 hours, with one break of at least 36 consecutive hours every 7 days; however, through collective bargaining the basic workweek for most unionized workers is 40 hours.

 

In 1999 the Government began compensating extra duty hours only for overtime actually worked, in accordance with labor equity, rather than as an automatic salary supplement.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Ghana – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)