The National Labour Commission (NLC) takes its origin from the Labour Act (2003), Act 651. The Act brought a new face to labour management relations in Ghana as it combines industrial relations and industrial laws, as well as, good practices which have evolved over the years into one common statute.

Ever since its establishment, the NLC has dealt with various labour disputes from across the labour landscape in the country. However, one key challenge is that after several years of mediating and resolving labour disputes in one form or the other, decentralising its activities has not proceeded as planned.

The need to devolve its activities to the regions, meanwhile, has become even more pressing, especially as the number of labour disputes increases by the day.

Probably, the lack of resources has limited its activities to Accra but it is the conviction of industrial relations officers that the establishment of regional offices would go a long way to quicken the adjudication of cases under its remit.

The new Executive Secretary of the NLC, Ofosu Asamoah, has given strong indication that at least, four regional offices are to be established, though he failed to give a definite timeline.

This is certainly long overdue and must be expedited to facilitate smooth industrial relations in the country.

Industrial disputes can be time-consuming and often come at a cost to all parties involved, including the national economy in lost productivity. Therefore, all avenues to decentralise dispute resolution at the workplace is paramount in view of the fact that the head office of the NLC in Accra is always inundated with petitions.

Establishing regional offices has taken too much time, and it needs to be viewed with urgency. Reports suggest Takoradi has an office, which is important because of the growing importance of the metropolis as an oil and gas hub. Kumasi and Tamale should have regional offices as well, as soon as possible, to take care of disputes in the northern and middle belt of the country.

We need to bring the NLC closer to feuding parties to access it with ease and promptly. This would perhaps speed up the resolution of the numerous industrial disputes that crop up from time to time.

There are too many unqualified drivers on our roads…

Statistics from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) indicate that, as at May, about 1.25million people hold driving licences in the country, whilst there are over 2million registered vehicles in the system.

Of course, having 2million registered vehicles does not mean there should be an equal number of licenced drivers since one individual can own more than a vehicle.

That notwithstanding, it does appear a lot of people are driving without licences. Of course, it is a known fact that most people start driving in this country before they consider applying for a driving licence. Commercial vehicle drivers in particular often learn driving on the job, whilst serving as bus conductors or driver-assistants. They, as such, learn how to move the vehicle without learning a thing about road regulations. They are thus the very abrasive types on the road; they are often the ones who, upon reaching a junction, want to enter the road they are joining without waiting to ensure it is safe to do so.

The DVLA has done well by making it mandatory for anybody applying for a driver’s licence to do so through a driving school, after undergoing training. But the system excludes people who cannot read and write, most of whom make up the bulk of trotro and taxi drivers. How does the DVLA expect such people to acquire a driving licence, since they are driving anyway?

This certainly explains the gap between registered vehicles and the number of people who have licences to drive.

In pushing for the mandatory levy for tow trucks to remove mangled and broken down vehicles off the roads, we have made a lot of capital how these vehicles account for road accidents. However, we have missed the point entirely and failed to identify the nexus between unlicensed drivers who are ignorant of road regulations and signs, and the spate of vehicular accidents. One does not have to look far, but observe how mini-bus drivers, often referred to as ‘tro-tro’ drivers, and taxi drivers, recklessly observe road regulations.

They believe they have the right of way at all times, and so they barge into traffic without signaling, and how dare you try to scold them for it.

In truth; they are not the only guilty ones on the road; some private vehicle drivers can act worse, in some cases, even if they are fully schooled on what is right on the road.

These acts of mutual lawlessness has developed into a dangerous, unruly sub-culture on our roads, and the road user is always on tenterhooks, simply because one cannot trust the other driver to adhere to road regulations. “Think for the other driver,” is what people are advised to do these days.

The police have done a terrible job at ensuring people drive only when they are licenced to do so. When they find out a driver has no licence, the police are hardly interested in ensuring the right thing is done; they would only take money and allow the person to go. How then do we ensure people are licenced before they drive?