02:25 p.m Jul 28, 1999 Eastern

ACCRA, July 28 (Reuters) - Ghana's employment minister expressed concern on Wednesday about rising industrial unrest and the Ghana Employers' Association (GEA) said some unions had demanded wage rises of up to 200 percent.

``The recent upsurge of militancy by organised labour is worrying,'' Employment and Social Welfare Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni said in a message read out at the GEA's annual meeting.

GEA President I.E. Yamson spoke of ``a very unstable industrial relations atmosphere in 1998,'' adding the GEA had to get involved in 32 disputes in 1998, double the 1997 figure.

``The unions decided to demand very high percentage increases, in some cases up to 200 percent over the existing salary levels, which of course our members could not accept as they did not have the ability to pay,'' he said.

However, Yamson said some companies were not free of blame.

``Many employers put human resources management at the periphery of their organisation and leave it in the hands of unprofessional managers who create the problems,'' he said.