Addressing organised labour at this year’s May Day celebration at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, he said, having operated this since year 2010 it was time to conduct a formal assessment to make changes.  The Committee would be expected to thoroughly look at the pay policy, not only for the public sector but for the private sector, drawing on global best practices to make informed recommendations.

President Akufo-Addo said productivity should be taken into consideration in the determination of remuneration for work done by employees in both the public and the private sectors.  This year’s workers’ day celebration was under the theme: “Sustainable Development Goals and Decent Work: The Role of Social Partners.”

The President stated that his government was eager to create a world-class labour force to drive the vision of putting “Ghana beyond aid, and called on the leadership of organised labour to lead the crusade for attitudinal change to work and productivity.

“Whilst we seek to review the remuneration, I continue to count on you, Secretary General, to lead the campaign for a change in attitude to work and increase in productivity.”     He welcomed the partnership of organised labour with government and the private sector to develop home-grown solutions to Ghana’s problems.

Such joint effort, he noted, would put the country on the path to realising the vision of a ‘Ghana beyond aid’. President Akufo-Addo announced further that government had set up a 10-member team headed by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, to craft within six months a Charter on ‘Ghana beyond aid’.

The Charter will, then, be subjected to scrutiny and debate by Parliament, and adopted as a follow up to the Co-ordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies.   The nation will then know in detail how we intend to move Ghana to a situation beyond aid.  He touched on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) concession and gave the assurance that no worker was going to be laid off as a result of the deal.

“You will recall that, in my address, I pledged that the terms of the agreement would be in Ghana’s interest.  I am happy to report today the existence of an MOU between organized labour, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, which will ensure that no worker of ECG would be negatively affected or laid off as a result of the coming into effect of the ECG concession.”

President Akufo-Addo added that majority of shares of the ECG concessionaire – 51 per cent, after the signing of this agreement, was in the hands of Ghanaians.   He also made reference to the vexed issue of pensions and said GH¢3.1 billion of the Tier Two pension funds had been transferred into the custodial accounts of the pension schemes of labour unions.

The government’s concern was to ensure that the Pension Funds were secured ahead of their retirement and that persons who had also been nominated to chair those schemes were well equipped, and possessed the necessary experience in the management of such schemes.

He told the workers that their contributions and accompanying investment returns were safe and would be promptly disbursed as and when they retired from active service.