U.S. Envoy holds bilateral meeting with Labour, Jobs, Employment Minister
Ghana and the United States have held bilateral discussions on issues of human trafficking, forced labour, child labour, and employment-related fraud.
This was during a courtesy call on the Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo by a four- member U.S. delegation led by the Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Ghana, Mr Rolf A. Olson.
Briefing the Minister on the purpose of the visit, Mr Matthew Hickey, Deputy Director at the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, noted that human trafficking and labour-related crimes remain major global concerns and continue to receive high-level attention from the U.S. Government.
He disclosed that the United States lost over $10 billion to scams in the past year alone, many of which were linked to organised transnational criminal networks.
Mr Hickey commended the government for the stricter measures being implemented to curb trafficking, labour fraud, and related crimes, including the extradition of individuals involved in transnational criminal activities.
He raised concerns about forced labour recruitment and sex trafficking, forced labour, especially within cocoa-growing communities organised criminal networks recruiting individuals under the guise of employment opportunities in the United States, only for victims to end up in Southeast Asia and other unintended destinations.
Dr Pelpuo in his response reaffirmed Ghana’s long-standing collaboration with the United States and expressed the Ministry’s readiness to deepen cooperation in combating forced labour and employment fraud for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The Minister also highlighted key government interventions, including Child Labour elimination initiatives such as the development of the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan on Child Labour, Collaboration with partners to curb child labour at the district level, with particular focus on the Western Region, Capacity-building programmes by NGOs for District Labour Officers on child labour identification and enforcement.
The Minister reiterated that the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment, served as the central conduit for all employment-related matters, both domestic and international for government.
He noted that the Ghana Labour Market Information System (GLMIS), which would soon become operational, has been developed to regulate recruitment processes, provide credible labour market information, and prevent employment fraud. He said when the system is deployed, it can be accessible at all the 16 regional Public Employment Centers in the country.
The U.S. Envoy encouraged the Ministry to identify areas of mutual benefit and assured the U.S. Embassy’s continued support for Ghana’s efforts.
The U.S. delegation included Mr Mathew Hickey, Deputy Director at the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and Mr Michael Kmiecinski of the Political Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy.
Present at the meeting was Mr Hamidu Adaklugu, Chief Director, Dr Smith Graham Chief Executive Officer of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Mr Dauda Braimah Ag. Chief Labour Officer, Mr Shadrach Mensah Director of Research Statistics and Information Management.
BY TIMES REPORTER
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