The Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Dr Anthony Yaw Baah has expressed disappointment in the labour institutions in the country.

Speaking at a labor conference on Monday, Mr. Baah, blamed the recent labour agitation in the country on weaknesses in the labor institutions.

“The recent discrepancies we are witnessing at the labour front are a manifestation of economic hardship workers are going through. Many industrial disputes remain unresolved due to the weaknesses in our labour administration institutions, especially in National Labour Commission (NLC), Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Labour Department,” he said.

He added that labour laws do not protect employees in the country therefore the need for government to have them reviewed.

“Currently just about 1.7 million Ghanaians in the workforce have access to pension or registered under SSNIT. Even those who are employed in the formal sector a very significant number of employers have refused to either register their employees with SSNIT or they have refused to pay their contrinbution,” he said.

According to him, the labour institutions in the country lack “the necessary human and material resources to deal with the multiplicity of challenges which lead to intractable labour disputes.”

He noted that when these institutions are supported financially, they would be empowered to deal with the difficulties in the institutions.

Dr Baah further revealed that the mining giant, Newmont, intends to declare mass redundancy in the coming days.

The labour front since the beginning of the year has been in turmoil with workers demanding better conditions of service.

The University Teacher Association of Ghana, UTAG, Civil and Local Government Workers Association, CLOGSAG and a host of others have been agitating for better pay.

Meanwhile, Employment, and Labour Relations Minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah has warned the current labour agitations could have an impact on the security of the nation if not well handled.