Improving Labour Migration Governance For National Development In Ghana

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) report, over 80 million people, either skilled, unskilled or semi-skilled are reported to be working outside of their home countries. This indicates that labour migration is becoming a growing phenomenon.

Labour migrants are viewed as people who travel intending to work, while some people travel because of economic reasons and for purposes of gaining better employment opportunities or work, others embark on such travels to join their relatives and or spouses, and much more travel due to famine, war, political instability and also to further their education.

But for whichever rationale people move, migration has intrinsically become a right. Recognising the potential benefits of labour migration, it is prudent for government to put requisite structures in place to harness the benefits of labour migration for socio-economic development. However, there are some underlining issues in labour migration governance and Ghana is not an exemption in trying to deal with such issues of labour migration.

For instance, in Ghana, there is a general lack of requisite information for labour migrants, and this creates vulnerable surroundings for the unscrupulous agent(s) to abuse them. Additionally, the lack of information on the safe and unsafe pathways presents another scope of vulnerability for youthful migrants who risk embarking on a deadly voyage through unapproved routes; thus, Burkina Faso to the Mediterranean Sea to Libya and Europe. The effects of such Operandi results in death, inhumane treatments, indecent work, and illegal status in foreign countries. In light of this, embassies and consulates are unable to capture relevant data for the welfare of such persons.

Likewise, the operations of some unlicensed Private Employment Agencies (PEAs) that are regulated by the Labour Department to export labour outside Ghana unethically without the requisite procedures and processes.

The issue of unlicensed and unregistered travel agents is reportedly posing serious problems to migrants causing them more harm than good.

In efforts by the Government of Ghana to put in place structures to manage the labour migration space, through the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) in 2017, a ban was placed on direct-to-home (domestic work) following the increasing reports of abuses of female workers in the Gulf States.

Almost 5 years down the lane, the ban is still in force, and governments' efforts are still work-in-progress. Some interventions including the review of the Labour Act 2003, (Act 651), implementation of Domestic Workers Regulations (LI 2408), signing of bilateral labour agreements, and institutionalization of the National Labour Migration Technical Working Group are immediate interventions and strategies to collectively manage Labour Migration in Ghana.

Before this, in April 2016, the Government of Ghana (GOG) through the Ministry of the Interior (MINTER) developed and launched the National Migration Policy (NMP) to provide a framework for migration governance in the country.

The Policy further recommended the development of sectoral policies to deal with specific migration-related issues. As a follow-up to the NMP, the MELR with its partners developed the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and received Cabinet approval for implementation in 2020. The overreaching goal of the Policy is an improved labour migration governance that harnesses the benefits of labour migration for socioeconomic development in Ghana between 2020-2024.

The NLMP has four (4) policy objectives which are, to promote good governance of labour migration, strengthen systems for the protection and empowerment of migrant worker and their families, enhance mechanisms for maximizing the developmental impacts of labour migration, to improve the labour market and migration information systems.

In pursuant of implementing the Policy holistically, MELR has put in place an inter-ministerial committee to solicit technical inputs and determine the collective requirement for ensuring its successful execution.

The writer is the Head of Public Affairs Unit of the MELR and a staff of the ISD.