Mr. Emmanuel Sin-nyet Asigri, Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), has called on all young workers to uphold the values of peace, unity, solidarity and friendship at the workplace.

He said, “a well-solidified work environment would lead to a better, a more decent, more equal fairer and more just society”.

“These are practical realities that together, we can achieve.”

He was speaking at the May Day celebration in Accra. The theme chosen for this year’s event was “Sustainable pensions for all: The role of social partners”.

Mr Sin-nyet Asigri reminded the youth of the origins of the Day - set aside to honour the contributions of workers, majority of them “fall within the youth and energetic bracket”.

He underlined the unswerving commitment of the NYA, to promote the wellness and welfare of workers, especially young workers.

“Undoubtedly, the youth remain crucial to the future of trade unionism and to the strength, effectiveness and legitimacy of the labour force.

“It is in this light that the NYA calls upon unions and organizations to better respond in their programmes and activities to the needs and expectations of young workers, to make them feel welcome and eliminate obstacles that hinder their full participation in these programmes.”

He urged the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) to move quickly to review its Youth Policy - to re-align it with current happenings and international best practices and standards.

He applauded the government for its efforts at addressing labour-related concerns, which had led to significant reduction in strikes.

It was refreshing that the Government through the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations was working tirelessly to enhance employment generation, provide decent work and working environment.

He added that other departments and agencies such as the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission; Youth Employment Agency were working alongside the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) and Nation Builders Corps (NaBCO) for the interest of the young worker.

He said the nation was making some progress in its fight to eliminate worst forms of child labour and cited the Ghana Labour and Forced Labour Reports.

He however acknowledged that there more needed to be done to tackle commercial sexual exploitation of children and the use of children for illicit activities.

Illegal mining was also another matter of concern for the NYA and he said everything was being done to support the government efforts, through the provision of alternative livelihood programmes.

He mentioned the “Youth livelihood Farms” project, which quite recently harvested over 1,022 bags of maize from 120 acres pilot farms in the Upper West Region, the youth in street light repairs and maintenance project, in collaboration with Prefos Limited and the launch of the Authority`s flagship project “Steps Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) programme targeting unskilled and semi-skilled youth, as some of the programmes meant to make the lives of the young people meaningful.