A labour consultant, Austin Gamey, has stated that the existing Labour Act 2003, (Act 651) is comprehensive enough to cater for all the legal requirements for a 24-hour economy.
He said all that is needed is to expand LI 1833 to cater for the specifics of how the 24-hour economy will be run.
Mr Gamey said this while contributing to discussions on the April 12 edition of the KeyPoints. The topic for discussion was the ‘Suspension of Post-Retirement Contracts.’
He explained that, “Under the Labour Act, it is clear that you can engage people on contract for six months or more. You can engage people on part-time people basis. So, all these provisions were provided for, having in mind the future of the country. We are now running into 24-hour economy. Indeed, we don’t need a new law to run 24-hour economy.
The labour consultant further explained that, “there are shifts provided for in the law- you don’t need amendments of the labour law, you don’t need anything new. Everything is already in the law. All you need is to expand it in LI 1833 by giving fillip to what really should be done if we want to implement the 24-hour economy
His comments come as the current government prepares to submit a legal framework to govern the 24-hour economy.
It is recalled that the Minority in Parliament raised concerns over the absence of the 24-hour economy policy in the Mahama administration’s 2025 budget presented to Parliament on March 11.
The Minority caucus noted that both President John Mahama and the Finance Minister, Dr Csssiel Ato Forson touched on the initiative in the State of the Nation Address and the 2025 Budget and Economic Policy of government.
Commenting on this during his closing remarks on the budget in Parliament on Friday, March 28, Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin wondered if the government is committed to the 24-hour economy programme.
“It is interesting that his Excellency assured us that his finance minister would outline the famous policy of a 24-hour economy in his budget. Dr Forson, also in his statement, deferred this all-important policy and promises another time. Meaning, that for the 2025 financial year, the 24 hour policy is ‘Yamutu”-dead.
Subsequently, the Presidential Advisor for 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, Augustus Goosie Tanoh, outlined crucial legislative reforms necessary to support the 24-hour economy.
Speaking in Parliament, he said “We are going through the entire legislative framework to identify and eliminate obstacles while also strengthening laws that will drive the transformation we envision.”
Mr Tanoh added that “Today, 2.1 million Ghanaians are unemployed, while 8.2 million are in vulnerable jobs. We must rationalize employment creation efforts so that jobs are sustainable, meeting International Labour Organization (ILO) standards.”
According to Mr Austin Gamey, as far as labour issues are concerned, the Labour Act has covered all aspects.
