Accra, Feb. 20, GNA - Labour certificates would only now be issued to contractors, who show proof of the number of people employed and those that had been laid off during the contract period.

Besides, the contractors would also have to produce the collective bargaining agreement, spelling out the laid down regulations and conditions under which the workers had been engaged to qualify for the certificate.

Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, said contractors would now be required to provide this basic information as a means of helping the Government to capture statistics on the employment situation in the country.

He was speaking at a day's workshop on collecting Statistical Data on Job Creation and Employment in Accra on Monday. The workshop aims to develop a strong system for tracking employment in the country through the adoption of common standards with respect to concepts and definitions, classifications and methods to ensure consistency and coherence within the system. Mr Adda said statistics was critical to the success of any government programme and added that without well-laid statistics on the labour market it would be difficult to pave the way for the private sector to grow.

He said the Ministry of Local Government would collect the data from contractors working on projects within the various districts assemblies while the Registrar General's Department would also give quarterly information on the registration of businesses to enable the Government to provide the necessary assistance to them to enhance their growth. Mr Adda said the Ministry of Manpower would liaise with the other Ministries not to award contracts without the certificates and expressed the hope that a reconciliation mechanism would be established to look at the figures provided to determine the true extent of the reality on the ground.

He expressed the hope that within the next four months the structure and survey on employment would be laid to capture the necessary data.

Dr Grace Bediako, Government Statistician, said the workshop was the first step to develop tools and to adopt procedures to measure employment on continuous basis.

She said growth and poverty reduction could not truly be sustained without consistent attention to employment and the regular provision of data to assess the levels, trends and the quality of employment. 20 Feb. 06