The Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) has bemoaned the new trend of industries making use of casual workers instead of employing permanent staff.

Mr Emmanuel Addo-Kumi, Secretary for the TDCL, speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Monday, said many companies especially the industries were refusing to make casual workers permanent staff.

Mr Addo-Kumi stated that some workers had been working as casuals for over 10 years, a situation he described as worrying.

He explained that in order not to be liable to the labour laws that enjoined employers to permanently employ a casual worker after six months of engagement, such industries terminate the contracts of casual workers before the six months elapsed and reinstate them later.

He therefore appealed to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, and other stakeholders to look into the practice as failure to do so could lead to many more institutions adopting the practice.

He also asked government to take workers’ welfare issues seriously and formulate policies that would ensure that workers received good remunerations and other packages to motivate them to give off their best to the building of the nation.

The TDCL Secretary said the laying off of workers due to closing down of several companies was worrying as it would increase unemployment in the country and that government must look into the factors leading to the folding up of these establishments.

Touching on programme line-up for the celebration of this year’s May Day, he announced that a day’s symposium under the theme: “Sustainable Development Goals and Decent Work, The Role of the Social Partner”, would be held for local union executives and other officials.

The symposium, he noted, would be addressed by Professor Baah Boateng, an Economist and Lecturer, University of Ghana, and Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations.

Workers in Tema were also expected to embark on a massive clean-up exercise in the Tema Community One central business area on February 28, 2018.