The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, is being accused of attempts to hijack
the brand new offices of the Labour Department.
The new offices, a four-storey building, was built for the Labour Department by the World Bank, as part of the
Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP)
In the year 2020, the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Finance (MoF), received financing from the
World Bank for the implementation of the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP). The Project Development
Objective was to support the Government of Ghana in skills development and job creation.
The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) through the Labour Department is implementing the
Component 3 of GJSP. Under Subcomponent 3.2 of Component 3, the project supports the redevelopment of the Old
Labour Department Head Office, located in the Ministerial Enclave, Osu-Accra, into a four (4)-storey building
modern office complex with a blend combination of offices and conference rooms, with disability-friendly features.
It is this new office, now complete and ready for commissioning, that the Minister is accused of trying to take over
to move his ministry into.
Yesterday, an official at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Madam Charlotte Hanson, denied
knowledge of any such development.
She said that the facility was being put up by the Ministry for the Labour Department, but then conceded that it was
with support from the World Bank.
In ensuring the promotion of Labour Laws and Standards in Ghana, the World Bank recognized the important role of
the Labour Department as the administrator of labour laws in Ghana and the need to redevelop its dilapidated
building to facilitate the effective delivery of labour services to the Ghanaian populace.
However, sources at the Labour Department believe that the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations is
attempting to hijack the glory.
“The entire staff of Labour Department are utterly displeased with the Minister’s intentions to take over the newly
built Head Office of the Labour Department,” the source stated.
The current Head Office of the Labour Department in Accra was constructed in the 1960s to serve as the focal centre
for coordinating the activities of the regional and district offices.
However, due to the lack of significant renovation over the years on the Labour Department Head Office structures,
the facility has developed major structural defects, which expose workers, clients and other facility users to public
health and safety risks.
Besides the structural defects, the facilities at the Head Office of the Labour Department are not accessible to
persons with disabilities (PWDs) hence the need to redevelop the facility to befit the status of the national head
office of the Labour Department.
In 2020 the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Finance (MoF), received financing from the World Bank
for the implementation of the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP). The Project Development Objective was to
support the Government of Ghana in skills development and job creation.
The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) through the Labour Department is implementing the
Component 3 of GJSP. Under Subcomponent 3.2 of Component 3, the project supports the redevelopment of the Old
Labour Department Head Office, located in the Ministerial Enclave, Osu-Accra, into a four (4)-storey building
modern office complex with a blend combination of offices and conference rooms, with disability-friendly features.
“The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah has communicated his clear intentions
of depriving the Labour Department off their Office building originally built to drive the GJSP purpose and the
department’s mandate as a whole,” members of the Labour Department said.
Meanwhile the Daily Searchlight has learned that members of the concerned labour staff of Labour Department have
expressed their concerns through a petition to be presented to the World Bank and major stakeholders as well as civil
society groups.
Their concern is mainly that the move by the Minister to relocate the main ministry to their redeveloped office
building is in blatant contravention of component 3 and 3.2 of the GJSP as the building was originally designed to
equip Labour Department and its technical staff to efficiently implement the objectives of this project and augment
the output of labour staff as a whole.
“The Labour Department wishes to urge the entire public, all stakeholders, civil society groups and good citizens of
Ghana to rally behind them to assert their position to restrain the Honourable Minister of his intentions on depriving
the Department of what is due them,” the concerned staff pleaded.
