…As Labour Commission mediates
By Ernest KISSIEDU
Figures from the National Labour Commission (NLC) indicate that 121 workers in Ghana had been unfairly dismissed at the close of the first half of 2017.
The 121 represent about 36% of the 340 workers, whose cases had been filed with the NLC as at 20th June, 2017.
The statistics show that the Commission has settled more than half (51%) of the cases – precisely 174 cases.
Although figures are not specifically available for the first half of 2016, the current figures for unfair dismissals are only 100 short of the 221 unfair dismissal cases recorded for the whole of 2016, meaning cases could hit the same level by close of 2017.
On the larger scale, there appears to be a similar trend as the Commission has already received 340 cases, representing 51.2 of the 664 complaints it received for the entire period of 2015.
Another indicator for identifying a trend is that there is only a small margin between the total number of cases – 174 (51%) – resolved for the first half of 2017 and the number of cases – 352 (53%) settled for the whole of 2016.
Half-year Breakdown
The data from the Commission also gives other categories of cases it has had to deal with for the first half of the year. These include, cases filed under Summary Dismissal (61), Retirement/End of Service complaints (20), Unpaid Salaries (31) and Workman’s Compensation (2). Others are issues relating to Redundancy/Lay-offs (36), Others or not specifically categorised (62), and Medical (1).
Resolved and unresolved
The NLC was set up in 2005, under section 135 of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651), with its law applying to all workers as well as employers with the exception of the Ghana Armed Forces, Police Service, Prison Service and other Security and Intelligence Agencies provided for under the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act 1996 (Act 526). Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) – now customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is also excluded by a Supreme Court decision.
The NLC’s major mandate includes receiving labour-related complaints, facilitating the settlement of industrial disputes, settling industrial disputes and promoting effective cooperation between labour and management.
Over the past 12 years, more workers in Ghana were unfairly dismissed and had their appointments terminated, according to the date from the NLC.
Statistics indicate that 2,331 workers complained about unfair termination of appointments by their employers.
Between 2005 and 2016, the NLC received and handled 8,004 complaints from workers from across the country and was able to resolve nearly half of all the cases. Out of the 8,004 cases received, 3,663 (46%) were settled.
This means that there is still 54% of the total cases recorded yet to be resolved by the commission.
Speaking to the Business Day, Eunice Larwer, Officer in-charge of the Public Affairs Section of the NLC, noted that for complaints or cases that are settled, most at times, people end up appealing to the Commission because judgments didn’t go in their favour.
“Those we aren’t able to settle; we go to the arbitration level. Many complainants sometimes decide not to pursue the cases again and as a result, they go behind the commission to settle the matter. After settling the matter, some don’t even inform the commission about it at all.”
“Others too after settlement, they come back to tell the NLC they have settled those cases so they want to move them out of the commission,” she said.
According to Larwer, the commission is not able to settle a lot of the cases because of financial constraints on the part of individuals who filed those cases.
“It’s not lack of capacity but rather that of financial problem that has contributed largely to most of the unresolved cases the NLC has received. When it comes to the NLC, you have to go through the arbitration level and what is happening is that, the individual doesn’t have the money to pay for the arbitration. For the arbitration, you have to pay and that is the problem for many of these employees.
“We cannot find the money for you. You have to find the money yourself,” she stressed.
No cancellation
Furthermore, NLC Data Entry Clerk, Edmund Owusu, speaking to the question of what happens to the many cases that are not resolved, remarked the commission does not cancel any of the unresolved cases it has ever received.
“We are working on those ones too. We always keep those cases under constant observations and monitoring. Sometimes, when you call a complainant to come for the letter to pursue the case, coming to the commission itself is even a problem for them. They sometimes lose interest in pursuing the case. Since the complainant is not willing to pursue the case, we at the commission can’t also do anything about it.
“If you are trying to delay in processing the matter, we see it that you are not interested in the case so until you become serious in pursuing it, that is when we also begin to take the matter up. We don’t cancel the case no matter how long it takes. Once the case is not settled, we just leave it as a pending issue…” he stressed.
When asked who filed those complaints and against which employers, Owusu indicated that most of the cases filed are against private employers though government is also part.
“Almost all of them or a lot is private. The government one is not that many. Sometimes it’s the nurses and the strike actions. Though conditions of service are part, but most of the cases, that come to the NLC, is about termination and dismissal.”
Writer’s email: ernestk@businessdayghana.com
