Tema, April 26, GNA – The Trades Union Congress – Ghana (TUC) Tuesday launched the Migration Recruitment Advisor (MRA) in Accra as part of measures to ensure fair and ethical recruitment of migrant workers, where their rights are respected.
At a two-day stakeholders’ capacity building training, where the MRA was launched, the Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr Joshua Ansah, said the training on the MRA was within the framework of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The fair recruitment initiative, by extension the MRA, is a new initiative in Ghana and second in Africa with Kenya already implementing it to stop the unfair treatment of some domestic workers, especially labour migrants.
Mr Ansah said the TUC “does not have the luxury of lamentations but rather carries a weighty responsibility of thinking outside the box and offering alternatives of best practices to enhance workers’ conditions”.
He said migrant workers were the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly domestic workers, of whom huge numbers were deported.
Mr Joel Akhator Odigie, the Deputy General Secretary of the International Trades Union Confederation (ITUC) – Africa, called on stakeholders to work together to prescribe practical solutions to curb the menace.
“This is a collaborative work that requires the active participation of migrants, employers, recruitment agencies, government, and the media to help improve and strengthen labour migration governance”.
Madam Emma Ofori Agyeman, the Director for Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, on behalf of the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Dr Ignatius Baffuor-Awuah, launched the MRA Platform in Ghana.
The MRA is to help protect migrant workers from abusive employment practices, by providing them with peer-to-peer reviews about recruitment agencies in their country of origin and destination.
It allows workers to comment on their experiences, rate the recruitment agencies and learn about their rights.
Initially available in English, Indonesian, Nepali, and Tagalog, the MRA will further be developed in more languages.
The ITUC-Africa believes that the public and private recruitment agencies, when appropriately regulated, play an important role in the efficient and equitable functioning of both the migration process and labour markets in countries of destination.
It also matches the right workers with specific labour needs and markets, as well as creates invaluable skill assets for countries of origin.
By Angela Ayimbire
