Employment of Persons with Disabilities in the Formal Labour Market
Ghana - Legislation
Final
February 2016
This report is the third report in a series under the project “Promoting inclusion of persons with disabilities in the formal labour market through innovative partnerships between the disability movement and the private and public sector” by the Disabled People’s Organisations, Denmark. The project seeks to identify and map influencing factors on employment of persons with disabilities in the formal labour market in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda. This report is the first out of two reports from Ghana; this first report focusing on the legislative framework on disability and the second focusing on factors identified through a mapping exercise with the disability sector and employers in Ghana.
Contents
Abbreviation 2
1. Introduction 3
1.1. The Constitution of Ghana 4
1.2. Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection 4
1.3. Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations 5
2. Labour Law 2003 6
3. Persons with Disability Act 2006 8
3.1. National Council on Persons with Disability 9
3.2. Employment 10
3.2.1. Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Expenditure Framework 11
3.3. Accessibility 11
4. Employment Act and Policies 12
4.1. National Employment Policy 2015 12
4.2. Youth Employment Agency Act 2015 15
4.3. Public Service Commission 17
4.4. Workman’s Compensation Act 1987 19
5. Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Act, 2006 20
6. Education Policies 20
6.1. Inclusive Education Policy, 2013 20
6.2. The Education Strategic Plan (2010-2020) 21
6.3. The Education Act, (2008) 21
6.4. The National Youth Policy, 2010 21
Abbreviation
COTVET Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training
DPO Disabled Persons’ Organisation
DPOD Disabled People’s Organisation, Denmark
GEA Ghana Employer’s Association
GFD Ghana Federation of the Disabled
ILO International Labour Organisation
LI Legal Instrument
MELR Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations
MoGCSP Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection
MTEF Medium Term Expenditure Framework
NCPD National Council of Persons with Disabilities
NEP National Employment Policy
PSC Public Service Commission
PLWHA People living with HIV/AIDS
PWD Persons with Disability
TUC Trade Unions Congress
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training
UNCRPD United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
1. Introduction
Disabled People’s Organisations, Denmark (DPOD) is a Danish umbrella organisation with 33 member organisations, representing 320.000 people in Denmark. In cooperation with the member organisations the DPOD Department for Development Cooperation seeks to advance the lives and human rights of persons with disabilities in the developing world. This is done through partnerships with local disability organisations with a focus on organisational development and capacity building.
DPOD has a strong connection with the African disability movement and with funding through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark the organisation are in 2014/2015 supporting the national umbrella disability organisations in Ghana and Uganda and their focus on formal employment for persons with disabilities. The project’s aim is to contribute to the overall development goal of:
A Ugandan and Ghanaian society where persons with disabilities are included as valued and active members of the formal labour market resulting in a significantly increased employment rate for persons with disabilities.
In 2010 – 2013 DPOD supported an employment project focusing on employment of persons with disabilities in the formal sector in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is with basis in the learnings from this project and the South African context in general regarding disability and employment that DPOD is partnering with the Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) and National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) on the current project. Though the South African experiences cannot be directly transferred to the very different settings in Uganda and Ghana, South Africa has for a longer period had a focus on diversity and inclusion due to its past and this can serve as inspiration to other countries.
The project has initiated with research and mapping in South Africa through engagement with the disability sector as well as private and public employers and stakeholders identifying and mapping successful and innovative initiatives and best practices within the private and public sectors as well as looking at enabling policies and legislative frameworks. This is then followed by similar research in Ghana and Uganda with the project culminating with a joint learning workshop with representatives from the disability movements, the private sector and government across the three countries sharing experiences and lessons learnt to initiate new and innovative ideas and partnerships.
Ghana signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in March 2007 and ratified the Convention in August 2012. With this Ghana demonstrates a significant step towards upholding and protecting the human rights of the five million persons with disabilities living in Ghana.
Before signing and ratifying the UNCRPD Ghana had already enacted the Persons with Disability Act (PWD Act) in 2006 in fulfilment of the protection of certain fundamental human rights guaranteed to persons with disability under the 1992 Constitution. The PWD Act is still the central legislative framework on disability issues in Ghana. The Act also has a section on employment which focuses on formal employment, persons with disabilities as business owners, training of persons with disabilities and rehabilitation.
This report gives an overview of the legislative framework related to persons with disabilities and employment. The report does not give an analysis of the legislation but rather tries to collate the different Acts and Policies which focus on and influence disability and employment. The Constitution of Ghana of 1992 includes a focus on disability ensuring the rights and opportunities of persons with disabilities and currently the two Ministries central to ensuring these rights and opportunities of persons with disabilities for participation in the formal labour market are the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR). The brief overview of the Constitution and these two Ministries are therefore included below.
The two central Acts within this project focus are the Labour Law of 2003 and the PWD Act of 2006. These two Acts are described in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 with a general introduction to the Acts and their purpose followed by the sections specifically focusing on employment of persons with disabilities. These chapters do not give a full summary of the Acts but only what is deemed central within the area of disability and employment.
Chapter 4 gives an overview of other related employment acts and policies including the National Employment Policy (NEP) 2015 and Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Human Resource Management Policy Framework and Manual for the Ghana Public Services 2015. The Act of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) also has a focus on inclusion of persons with disabilities and with the importance of Education and Training in relation to employment this Act is included in the report in Chapter 5. Likewise, legislation on education is briefly described in Chapter 6.
1.1. The Constitution of Ghana
The Constitution of Ghana 1992 ensures the rights of all citizens of the country and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, ethnic origin, creed, colour, religion, social, or economic status. Article 29 under Chapter 5: Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, specifically focuses on the rights of persons with disabilities with some of the clauses relating directly or indirectly to employment. These clauses are:
(4) Disabled persons shall be protected against all exploitation, all regulations and all treatment of a discriminatory, abusive or degrading nature.
(6) As far as practicable, every place to which the public have access shall have appropriate facilities for disabled persons.
(7) Special incentive shall be given to disabled persons engaged in business and also to business organisations that employ disabled persons in significant numbers.
(8) Parliament shall enact such laws as are necessary to ensure the enforcement of the provisions of this article.
1.2. Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection
The current line ministry for persons with disabilities is the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection (MoGCSP) which was established in 2013. It replaced the Ministry of Women & Children’s Affairs and is a fusion of this Ministry, the Department of Social Welfare and the Social Protection Division of the then Ministry of Employment & Social Welfare.
The Goal of MoGCSP is:
To promote an integrated society that offers equal opportunity for both men and women and safeguards the rights of children, and empower the vulnerable, excluded, the aged and persons with disabilities by social protection interventions to contribute to national development.
The core functions of the Ministry are to:
• Formulate gender, child development and social protection policy.
• Co-ordinate gender, child and social protection related programmes and activities at all levels of development.
• Develop guidelines and advocacy strategies for use by all MDAs and for collaboration with Development Partners and CSOs.
• Facilitate the integration of gender, children and social protection policy issues into National Development Agenda.
• Provide guidelines and advocacy strategies for MDAs and other development partners for effective gender and social protection mainstreaming.
• Ensure compliance with international protocols, conventions and treaties in relation to children, gender and social protection.
• Conduct research into gender, children and social protection issues.
• Monitor and evaluate programmes and projects on gender, children, the vulnerable, excluded and persons with disabilities
1.3. Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations
Another central Ministry within this project’s scope is the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR). The Mission of the Ministry is to:
Formulate policies and strategies, and initiate programmes to enhance employment generation and ensure the protection of the rights of workers in Ghana, as well as conduct Research into Topical labour issues that underpin National Development Planning.
(MELR - Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2014-2016)
The core functions of the Ministry are to:
• Formulate policies and strategies to achieve the mandate, goals and objectives of the Ministry
• Undertake studies on topical labour and employment issues
• Coordinate all national employment initiatives
• Monitor and evaluate polices, programmes and projects relating to gainful employment and promotion of industrial harmony
• Promote Tripartism through building organic partnership with key social partners
• Develop and implement the labour market information system to facilitate the provision of timely and accurate labour market information for use by government, private sector and job seekers.
• Achieve productivity improvement of all employed labour force in all sectors of the economy
• Encourage the growth of skills particularly in the youth through vocational and technical training at all levels including apprenticeship
• Ensure occupational health and safe working environment for all workers both in the formal and informal sector
• Facilitate development of vibrant co-operatives and other enterprises for employment generation and poverty reduction
• Promote increased efficiency and productivity in both public and private sector organisations through up-grading of management practise , consultancy service and research
• Coordinate the implementation of the national plan of action to eliminate the worst form of child labour.
(MELR - Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2014-2016)
2. Labour Law 2003
The Labour Act of 2003 consolidates and updates the various pieces of former legislation and covers all employers and employees except those in strategic positions such as the Armed Forces, Police Service, Prisons Service and the Security Intelligence Agencies. Major provisions of the Labour Act include establishment of public and private employment centres, protection of the employment relationship, general conditions of employment, employment of persons with disabilities, employment of young persons, employment of women, fair and unfair termination of employment, protection of remuneration, temporary and casual employees, unions, employers’ organisations and collective agreements, strikes, establishment of a National Tripartite Committee, forced labour, occupational health and safety, labour inspection and the establishment of the National Labour Commission.
The establishment of Public Employment Centres and registration of private employment agencies are prescribed in Part II of the Act. In clause 3 the functions of these Centres are states as:
Each Centre shall:
(a) assist unemployed and employed persons to find suitable employment and assist employers to find suitable workers from among such persons;
(b) take appropriate measures to
(i) facilitate occupational mobility with a view to adjusting the supply of labour to employment opportunities in the various occupations;
(ii) facilitate geographical mobility with a view to assisting the movement of unemployed and employed persons to areas with suitable employment opportunities; and
(iii) facilitate temporary transfers of unemployed and employed persons from one place to another as a means of meeting temporary local maladjustment in the supply of or demand for unemployed persons;
(c) assist in social and economic planning by providing labour market information to stakeholders to ensure a favourable employment situation;
(d) provide vocational guidance facilities to young persons;
(e) provide arrangements for the registration, employment, training and retaining of persons with disability[1]; and
(f) provide arrangements for the registration of employed and unemployed persons
(i) with recognized technical, vocational or professional qualifications or those without these qualifications but have had experience of a level higher than that of an artisan;
(ii) who are of the level of supervisors or foremen;
(iii) with experience at administrative, managerial or senior executive levels; and
(iv) who have received training at the tertiary level.
Part V of the Labour Act specifically focuses on Employment of Persons with Disability with the following clauses:
45. Registration of persons with disability
46. Special Incentives
47. Notification of employment of persons with disability
48. Particulars of contract of employment
49. Persons with disability in public service posts
50. Employment not to cease upon disablement
51. Length of notice of termination
52. Transfer of persons with disability
53. Training
54. Part to be read as one with other relevant enactments