‘Offer employment, accommodation to  refugees’

The Migrant Labour General Workers Union International (MLGWUI) has appealed to employers and landlords to offer employment and accommodation to skilled and unskilled refugees in the country.

That, the Union said was to address the challenge of unemployment and accommodation problems faced by refugees.

This was contained in the World Refugees Day statement by MLGWUI, issued and signed by Justice Baako Ntarmah and Marie Anne Api, General Secretary and Head of Education in International Relations and National Women’s Coordinator of MLGWUI respectively, and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.

World Refugee Day is observed every year on June 20 to highlight the plights faced by refugees all over the world and to encourage governments globally to take action to improve the lives of refugees.

The day was celebrated on the theme “Right to Seek Safety.”

Commemorated by the United Nations since 2001, more than 100 countries including Ghana observe the Day every year with activities to enable people with refugee status to feel at home.

The Union indicated that it had observed the challenges immigrants faced pertaining to the acquisition of jobs and places of abode, as such, it urged immigrants to Union as members.

“It is important for refugees to join migrant trade union organisations because during their stay in host communities or countries they have rights to engage in employment relations and do any income earning related labour work in the host countries,” it added.

The MLGWUI used the opportunity to applaud the Country Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ms Esther Kiragu for her collaboration with the Ghana Refugee Board in securing the welfare of refugees in the country and Africa at large.

It stressed that their support aided 2000 Ivoirian refugees to be sent back home safely with support packages as well as ensured the peaceful integration of some of them in Ghana.

BY TIMES REPORTER