Topic: 2024-Right to Organize
Country: Ghana
Delegate Name: Andrew Dylenski
International Labor Organization
Right to Organize
Ghana
Andrew Dylenski
Forest Hills Eastern
The right to organize has been one of the International Labor Organization’s main priorities since its beginning. This right is defined as individuals coming together and bargaining for better rights, conditions, and pay on the job. In the first amendment in the Bill of Rights, the right to assembly was included, which gave Americans the right to come together and assemble over a common issue. In the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution sprung up in Britain and flowed into the rest of Europe; It introduced the idea of steam-powered machines and the factory assembly line. But, it also led to unionization by the factory workers in this era who would be working in these rough conditions in the factories. After this, the United States and many other countries in Europe recognized the people’s right to unionize and practice collective bargaining. But, even with this, there are still forms of violence and opposition by employers against unions and collective bargaining: job displacement, the denying of license renewals, and penalization are still happening in various countries. It is up to the ILO to find out common threats to the right to organize and work with governments worldwide to protect this right for all humans.
The Republic of Ghana recognizes each citizen’s right to assemble and organize and the right is constitutionally supported. Chapter 5 of the Ghanaian constitution includes the citizen’s rights to organize. The Labour Act of Ghana promises mutual trust between employers and employees in the workforce. Along with this, the act establishes the National Labour Commission(NLC), which is the main source that mediates labor disputes and allows for collective bargaining. Along with these rights, Ghana has strict labor laws that only allow for eight-hour work days and a mandatory safe workspace that is facilitated by officials. Even before the act was introduced in 2003, the Ghanaian government had been working to consolidate a framework that would protect employee rights. Despite all these measures, Ghana has still been struggling with labor problems regarding gender inequality and informal employment.
The ILO has to work to establish measures that every country’s government can follow to ensure the right to organize for all citizens while spotting the major threats to the right. The government could and should be willing to enact laws that would allow for this right in the first place. Lots of this change would have to be in the countries that discriminate against unions and restrict the practice. In these countries, there has to be a framework for punishment and penalties against those showing prejudice towards unions and collective bargaining. Also, there has to be a more widespread education program and awareness campaign for those workers who do not know they have this right; This would increase the number of employees engaging in collective bargaining and will lead to a worldwide increase.
