Eastern and Volta Regional Chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dela Gadzanku has lamented the devastating impact of Covid-19 on livelihoods in the country.

According to him, the global effects of the pandemic resonates among millions of people and has stretched every fibre of the economy.

He stated that this had weakened the ability of many companies to cater to their employees

Gadzanku noted that  challenge confronting business leaders is to strike a delicate balance between worker welfare and stay afloat or maintain a firm footing for their companies but unfortunately the job of unsuspecting workers hang in the balance and their economic fate is threatened by the hard decisions , business leaders are being forced to take

The chairman made these comments during a joint Webinar to deliberate on the effects the pandemic under the theme; ” Minimizing the impact of Covid-19 on job losses, building resistance and strategies “.

The AGI brought together experts to deliberate on possible solutions and answers to pressing questions on how to deal with COVID 19 and save workers simultaneously.

The experts had a deep discussion on the real challenges that have presented themselves to business managers and entrepreneurs and proposed potential strategies for dealing with the double-edged problem.

Gadzanku noted that “the decisions we craft in these uncertain times must be one that re-examines what our priorities are “.

 At the same event, Minister for Employment and Labour relations, Ignatus Baffour said the government is working hard to make sure that young unemployed graduates get employed. He said government is committed at making sure that issues with unemployment in the country comes to an end.

Bono and Ashanti regional Chairperson of AGI, Gyamfua Owusu–Akyaw noted it is time to reshuffle the cards and maintain a winning position for both workers and companies.

Labour and arbitration consultant, James Owureku Obeng was of the view that agric -businesses have been badly affected and have challenges with equipment maintenance and inputs.

Local input according to the participants is very important and must be well developed so as to be put in use .

Human Resource consultant, Rosemary Freeman Tetteh, opined that government have not done enough on training and retraining taking into concentration the huge number of graduates waiting by the free SHS

Meanwhile, Senyo Agyabeng, Labour Consultant and Arbitrator noted that organizations must put pragmatic efforts in place to prepare for any eventuality.