Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Employment & Labour Relations Minister
Government has indicated that it will consider the petition by employees of the National Labour Commission (NLC) to investigate the Executive Director of the Commission Charles Adongo Bawa Duah.
The workers of the NLC are calling for the removal of Mr Bawa Duah from office due to his management style.
They also accused him of unfairly dismissing two staff members and contesting the parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in violation of the ethics of the NLC.
Dressed in red and black attires with headbands and armbands, the agitated employees locked up their offices of the Commission to register their displeasure on Thursday.
However, speaking to Accra-based Citi Fm in an interview, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, noted: “I do not know the gravity of the issues the workers are raising. I have said that when the issue comes before us, it will inform us as to what to do next.”
Meanwhile, the Minister has disclosed that the workers’ protest did not obstruct the Executive Director and the NLC from adjudicating on labour issues.
The Executive Director was appointed in April 2016.
Eric Omane Yeboah, Senior Industrial Relations Officer at NLC, explained that Mr Bawa Duah’s open affiliation with the NDC defeats the independence of the NLC in executing its mandate, hence the call for his removal.
“Most definitely the NLC is a neutral institution and under the public service; all things being equal, public servants are non-partisan and therefore I cannot go and represent a political party and still hold myself in public office. We are therefore saying that he cannot still remain in office when his government is not in power,” he stated.
By Samuel Boadi
samuel10gh@yahoo.com