NLC records 973 unfair termination complaints from 2020 to 2025

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has disclosed that it received 973 complaints relating to unfair termination of employment between 2020 and 2025.

According to the Commission, the reported cases included 336 dismissals, 660 complaints over unpaid salaries and 15 cases involving the non-payment of compensation.

It also recorded 142 complaints relating to redundancy pay and lay-offs, nine cases involving medical issues, and 559 complaints concerning leave entitlements, including annual leave, sick leave and maternity leave.

The Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission, Dr Bernice A. Welbeck, disclosed the figures during a stakeholders' symposium held in Accra on Thursday to commemorate two decades of the Commission's operations.

The symposium was held on the theme, "Two Decades of the Work of the NLC: Lessons, Experiences, Challenges and the Way Forward."

Dr Welbeck said the Commission receives between 800,000 and one million complaints cumulatively each year through labour and industrial disputes, many of which involve collective actions that often result in industrial unrest.

She revealed that between April 2005 and December 2025, the Commission handled 13,113 reported cases, successfully resolving and concluding 12,677 of them.

According to her, 317 cases are currently undergoing the initial stages of resolution, while 119 remain unprocessed due to a lack of response from the parties involved.

Dr Welbeck also noted that the Commission facilitates the payment of substantial compensation to workers each year.

“The Commission on a yearly basis grants an average compensation of between GH¢800,000 and GH¢1,200,000 to beneficiaries,” she said.

She explained that the figures exclude payments made directly to beneficiaries without passing through the Commission.

The Immediate Past Chairman of the NLC, retired Justice Kwabena Asuman-Adu, expressed concern over the failure of some government officials to honour invitations from the Commission, saying the situation often fuels perceptions that the Commission favours government in labour disputes.

He also urged employers to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Labour Act, observing that many lacked adequate knowledge of the law.

Justice Asuman-Adu further encouraged organisations to employ qualified human resource professionals to help ensure compliance with labour laws and promote sound employment practices.

Also addressing the symposium, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Jones Ansah, said successive governments had failed to accord labour unions the recognition they deserved.

He stressed that no employee should have their contract terminated without justifiable reasons, describing such a practice as essential to maintaining harmonious industrial relations.

Mr Ansah further appealed to the government to provide adequate resources to labour institutions to enable them to carry out their statutory responsibilities effectively.