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11.02.2009 Business & Finance

Organization steps up education on Ghana Business Code

11.02.2009 LISTEN
By GNA

Improving Business Practice (IBP), the

organization managing the Ghana Business Code (GHBC), on

Wednesday stepped up its awareness programmes to educate the

business sector and the public on the Code and recent changes made to

it.
IBP is currently introducing several activities to intensify its public

education campaigns through the mass media as well as personal and

small group communication activities to reach and get greater number

of companies to sign on to the idea.
Mr. Johnson Oduro, IBP Manager, told the media in an interaction

in Accra to provide updates in the development of the Code, which

was started in 2006, that the move was in line with the organizations’

commitment to facilitate best practices among the business community.

He said it was important that the business community and the public

appreciated the need for businesses to operate by a set of standards

that created trust between an enterprise and its stakeholders.

The GHBC is a voluntary code involving a set of norms developed

by the three main business associations in Ghana - Association of

Ghana Industries, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Ghana

Employers’ Association - intended to guide the conduct of business

operations.
The code outlines acceptable corporate socially responsible

standards regarding human rights, labour, environment and

anti-corruption.
It also gives companies a recognition that broadens business

opportunities, both internationally and locally, for business growth.

About 120 companies have signed onto the code. Denmark is

supporting the development and implementation of the code.

Mr Oduro said based on a stakeholder review of the code, it was

amended to get businesses to support and respect the protection of the

rights to work by providing a contract, that details job duties, payment,

hours of work, holidays and holiday payment when employing

someone for more than two months.
The change, he said, was to reflect what was termed as

appointment.
The amendment to the code stipulates that businesses should

support and respect the protection of the right to family life by offering,

where necessary, paid compassionate leave on grounds of parental

responsibility, ill health, child birth and death.
Mr Oduro said in subsequent months, the IBP would be working

with industry to bring the message of the code to them to increase their

appreciation and motivate them not only to sign onto it but to also

implement it.
He said the IBP would be involved in thematic issues like gender,

transparency, organizational health and safety and HIV/AIDS and focus

on assisting enterprises in policy development.

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