Eugene Narh Korletey, the Chief Labour Officer at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, has revealed that a substantial number of workers lost their jobs in the public sector between the month of April and June as a result of the pandemic.
According to him, due to the impact of the coronavirus some thirteen industrial sectors were not exempt from this phenomenon.
The Chief Labour Officer revealed this during a tripartite workshop between government, labour and employers on Wednesday, October 14, 2020.
He further noted that the Labour Department in consultation with the Economics Department of the University of Ghana conducted a pilot labour market survey of the effect of Covid-19 on the labour front.
“The report of the pilot labour market survey indicates that the pandemic led to job losses and vacancies for many workers. According to the results of the survey, about 40 percent of workers suffered pay cuts and these pay cuts were highest among medium-scale establishments. That is establishments of about 39 employees.”
Commenting on the number of job losses, he intimated that some 11,657 jobs were lost during the first three months of the pandemic with micro-sized enterprises hardest hit.
Despite admitting that their members were negatively impacted by the pandemic, the Ghana Employers Association assured at the workshop that they have committed to adopting social dialogue to resolve the challenges.
The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Mr. Ignatius Baffuor Awuah revealed during a “Meet- the- Press” conference held on September 16, 2020, posited that the reduction in economic activity caused a decline in jobs and resulted in pay cuts for some workers.
This, he indicated was due to losses in working hours across sectors of the economy, particularly in the manufacturing sub-sector and services.
“Two months ago, my Ministry commissioned a Pilot Labour Market Survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 on job losses and pay cuts. The survey covered 878 enterprises across the country and involved a total of 44,040 employees. The survey covered micro (1-4 employees), small (5-29 employees), medium (30-99 employees), and large (100+ employees) enterprises. These are the classifications used by the Ghana Statistical Service.
“The number of micro enterprises covered represents 11.4%, small 59.2%, medium 19.9 % and large 9.5%. In all, 98.5% of the firms covered in the survey are in the private sector with the remaining 1.5% in the public sector. The results of the survey revealed that the pandemic has had a significant impact on workers of some specific industries”.
The results of the survey further revealed that, 17,685 out of 44,040 (40%) workers suffered pay cuts.
“Pay cuts were highest among medium scale establishments with 46% of workers affected and lowest among small scale enterprises (38%). Sectorally, over 50% of workers in construction and services suffered pay cuts to keep their jobs. Between 29-42% of workers in manufacturing, entertainment and events, sports, hotels and restaurants as well as mining also suffered pay cuts. Pay cuts were lowest in the finance sub sector (5%), followed by shipping/maritime (18.9%)”.
Job losses recorded by the ministry was 11,657 representing 26.5% of workers engaged.
The incidence of job losses was highest among micro-sized enterprises (36%) and lowest in large scale establishments (23%).
