Minister for Employment, Jobs, and Labour Relations, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, has revealed the government’s ambitious plan to send Ghanaian labour abroad to curb unemployment.
Dr. Pelpuo speaking in an interview with JoyFm Supper Morning Show monitored by Kumasimail.com, he highlighted the exceptional reputation of Ghanaian workers worldwide, citing consistent requests from powers like Canada, Europe, the Gulf states, and other African countries.
“Within the domestic sector and beyond, we can also explore exporting Ghanaian labour to other countries that need it. There have been consistent requests for Ghanaian labour from all over the world, including Canada, Europe, the Gulf, and even African countries”, he said.
He also cited a meeting with the Barbadian ambassador that underscored this interest, with an urgent request for Ghanaian nurses following glowing reviews of current expatriates.
He revealed “Quite recently, I received the Excellency, the Ambassador of Barbados to Ghana. The first request she made was, ‘Can you send us some nurses?’ She said that the people we sent there have been excellent.
“I mean, the Ghanaian is such a quality person, and the praise is everywhere about the quality of Ghanaians, our capacity to articulate, our ability to present ourselves professionally, and all that. So, if we have all these people held in such high regard and they unemployed in Ghana”.
The Minister indicated that the government is establishing a formal framework before the Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa will sign any bilateral agreement with any country that needs our workforce.
“The logical thing is to look elsewhere for opportunities to send them abroad within the scope of our legal framework here. Currently, what I am doing is ensuring that the foreign minister signs bilateral agreements with all the countries needing Ghanaian labour. I will signed agreements with companies that want to export labour to transport Ghanaian workers abroad”
Dr. Pelpuo emphasized the need for legal and regulated pathways to protect workers’ rights and ensure they are treated with dignity and respect abroad.
“We will ensure that they are properly treated, respected, and in good health, and that they are paid well according to their work. This way, you will not disrespect them while they are in your country.”
Dr. Pelpuo explained that there will be a centralized approach to enable better tracking of worker movements and duration of employment contracts.
He stressed “We are listing all the countries that need Ghanaian labour. We want to list them and work within a certain level of coordination so that we don’t have one company sending people somewhere without anyone knowing who they are or where they are going.
He added “we will synchronize all of it and work within the framework to comply with our Ghanaian labour regulations and laws. This way, we can control who is going out, how long they will stay, and how many years they want to sign agreements for before returning to Ghana.”
Source : www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
