President Inaugurates Board of National Labour Commission

President Nana Akufo-Addo has inaugurated the Board of the Labour Commission at a brief ceremony at the Jubilee House.

The Board, inaugurated on Friday, 4 May 2018, will be chaired by by Mr Andrew Kwabena Asamoah; and has Kwame Ofori-Gyaw, Rose Karikari Anang, Francis Kofi Davoh, Fidelis Patrice Seddoh, Capt. Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh, and James Atta Krufi Nuamah as members.

The National Labour Commission (NLC) is established under Section 135 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651). The function of the Commission includes the settlement of industrial dispute through negotiations and other effective alternative methods of disputes resolution, such as mediation and arbitration. Others are the NLC’s Regulations (2006), Legislative Instrument (LI) 1822 and the Labour Regulations (2007), LI 1833.

Before the promulgation of Act 651, the Industrial Relations Act 1960, (Act 299) governed labour relations. Under Act 299, the Labour Department under the Ministry of Labour Affairs was in charge of managing and settling industrial disputes.

Act 651 has been described as a consensus document because it is a negotiated law where there was a lot of give and take by the Social Partners in labour relations. The Social Partners are composed of two representatives each from Government, Organized Labour and the Ghana Employers Association.

The Commission aims to develop and sustain a peaceful and harmonious industrial relations environment through the use of effective dispute resolution practices within the context of the law, promotion of cooperation among the labour market players and mutual respect for their rights and responsibilities.

The vision of the Commission is to have a harmonious industrial relations environment borne out of the firm understanding of, and committed compliance with the Labour Laws by all stakeholders, to make the Ghanaian economy competitive to attract investment.