Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Ghana (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide more specific information on the activities of the public employment centres and youth employment centres and on the contribution of these centres to the implementation of a national employment policy. The Government refers in its report to sections 3 and 4 of the 2003 Labour Act, which relate to the activities of the public employment centres. It also points to the contributions made by the public employment centres and youth employment centres, including: (i) canvassing for job vacancies through employers and placement of job applicants; (ii) providing vocational guidance and counselling, especially with regard to job vacancies for young persons to be trained and placed on such jobs without difficulties; (iii) providing counselling for migrant jobseekers; and (iv) generating data for socio-economic development and for research and planning purposes. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are 64 public employment centres in the country that registered 3,490 registered jobseekers in 2021, and placed 1,627 jobseekers in employment. Moreover, the Government indicates that there are ongoing works to establish 16 additional public employment centres across the country, with the financial support from the World Bank. These additional centres would help ensure that employment services centres are brought closer and are more accessible to jobseekers or applicants throughout the country. The Committee considers that these represent important measures aimed at making the public employment service (PES) more present throughout the national territory in view of the fact that the country is facing important challenges to structure its informal economy, which accounts for approximately 90 per cent of total employment. The Committee wishes to stress that by implementing integrated strategies, the PES can indeed play a crucial role in facilitating the transition from informal to formal employment, thereby contributing to economic growth and decent work objectives. Such integrated strategies include: (i) developing the offer for vocational training, apprenticeships, and continuous professional development to enhance the employability of workers currently working in the informal economy; (ii) improving job matching services so as to connect informal workers with formal job opportunities, which involves creating and maintaining a comprehensive database of jobseekers and vacancies, and using technology to match them effectively; (iii) educating informal workers about the benefits of formal employment, such as job security, social protection, and better working conditions; (iv) supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which often employ many informal workers and providing support to these businesses to formalize, such as access to finance, business development services, and simplified registration processes; and (v) running advocacy campaigns for policies that make formal employment more attractive and accessible and collaborating with other stakeholders, such as private sector employers, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations so as to enhance the effectiveness of PES initiatives, gather additional resources and expertise (See Public employment services and active labour market policies for transitions: Responses to mega trends and crises, ILO https://www.ilo.org/media/361921/download). In view of the above,the Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the results of the activities carried out by the public employment centres and youth employment centres with a view to promoting full employment and transitions from informality to formality. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of public employment centres established, the number of applications for employment received, the number of vacancies notified and the number of persons placed in employment by such centres, indicating progress made in order to strengthen the placement capacities of the public employment service.

Articles 4 and 5. Cooperation with the social partners. The Government indicates that it wishes to assure the Committee of its utmost continuous engagement with the employers and workers organizations in its deliberations on employment services. It adds that the activities of the National Tripartite Committee with regard to the Convention include the following: (i) discussion on the possible means of preventing redundancy exercises which will lead to job losses; (ii) discussion on the alternatives to averting the hardship of employees and employers through government stimulus packages; (iii) soliciting information from employers to determine the employment situation in the country; and (iv) discussion on matters in relation to the provision of job opportunities for the youth and youth entrepreneurship. The Government further indicates that the National Tripartite Committee considers social and economic situations to ensure a favourable employment situation in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide more specific information on the contributions made by the social partners within the National Tripartite Committee or any other tripartite body in the organization and operation of the public employment centres and youth employment centresand the development of employment service policy.

Article 8. Special arrangements for young people. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government refers to a 2021 statistical report and indicates that, in terms of impact, the public employment centres were able to provide counselling and vocational guidance to over 4,845 young persons across the centres. The Government further indicates that every year students are provided with vocational guidance and counselling in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service and the social partners. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the impact of the special arrangements for young people initiated and developed within the framework of the employment and vocational guidance services. The Government is also requested to indicate the measures taken to address the challenges related to youth underemployment and provide relevant statistical data in this respect. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the youth employment centres and on their impact.

Article 11. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to ensure cooperation between public employment centres and private employment agencies. While both public and private agencies provide employment opportunities to Ghanaians within and outside Ghana, the nature of their work is complimentary rather than competitive. Public employment centres and private employment agencies collaborate by exchanging information on labour market conditions to facilitate job placements and reduce waiting time for employers to fill vacancies. The Government adds that legislation imposes an obligation on licensed private employment agencies to submit employment information, including job placements, to the Labour Department on a quarterly basis. Both public and private agencies also hold stakeholder engagement meetings to discuss solutions to emerging labour market issues or challenges. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the measures taken to ensure effective cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies, including more specific information on the meetings held to discuss labour market challenges. It also requests information on the number of private employment agencies operating in Ghana.

In addition, the Committee wishes to refer to its direct request on the application of the Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 96), with regard to the steps taken, in consultation with the social partners, to ratify the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181).