In order to protect the work of employees at a time of crisis like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) is proposing the introduction of Workers Compensation Insurance in preparation for future pandemics.
TUC in its report of a preliminary assessment of COVID-19 indicates that a decline in Gross Domestic Product growth is already manifesting in job losses and livelihoods in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.
Speaking at the forum on COVID-19 and its impact on workers in the country, the Director of Labour Research and Policy Institute at the trade union congress Dr. Kwabena Nyarko Otoo said, this scheme will allow workers to have access to funds which will be at least equivalent to their basic salaries in times of crisis.
“We propose a contributory scheme that allows employers and workers to have access to funds to pay workers at least their basic salaries in times of crisis,” Mr. Otoo said.
“With hotels reporting massive declines in occupancy, international and domestic airlines grounded, restaurants and schools closed and exports/imports halted, joblessness, job insecurity and income insecurity are affecting hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians if not millions,” the Congress stated.
Although employers in the formal sector are not announcing mass layoffs, the TUC maintains that reports from various unions, especially those in the private sector, suggest unionized and non-unionized workers are losing jobs in thousands.
Further to this, TUC said part-time employees and casual workers are the most vulnerable.
source: Goldstreet Business
