Labour Ministry warns: Galamsey will lead to job losses

With the continued degradation of the environment through illegal mining(gamalsey) and other human activities, millions of people are estimated to lose their jobs in the coming years, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) has said.

The ministry has, therefore, called for a rapid and emergency approach to reverse some of the impacts of climate change in particular, to save livelihoods and the Planet Earth as a whole.

MELR, with support from the European Union, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and SNV Ghana, introduced a five-year (2021-2025) National Green Jobs strategy to address the menace.

The strategy would ensure that the current brown economy that is contributing to the destruction of the environment is replaced with green jobs, but in a more sustainable way.This was revealed at a day’s workshop for journalists in Accra on Thursday, 26th January 2024.

Representing the sector minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, at the workshop was Mrs. Gloria Bortele Noi, Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the ministry.

She said the development of the strategy was necessitated by concerns rising from adverse effects of climate change on countries and their citizens’ wellbeing.

“In Ghana the challenges of global warming fuelled by human activities and build-up of greenhouse gases have worsened in recent times due to illegal mining activities, commonly known as “GALAMSEY”,” she noted.

According to her, while climate response measures offer broader benefits, they could also have adverse effects on the labour market and a reason the ILO advocates for a “Just Transition to an environmentally sustainable economy.”

She explained that this involved minimising negative impacts and maximising job creation opportunities, with a strong emphasis on ensuring that no one was left behind.

“Creating green job opportunities is a shared responsibility, aiming for policy alignment, coordination, green skills development, and support for green enterprises. The purpose of this one-day media sensitisation is to create awareness and forge a partnership with the media in ensuring a just transition,” she stressed.

She acknowledged that a sudden shift from a brown economy to a green economy to mitigate the effect of climate change would render a lot of workers jobless and increase unemployment in the country, hence the introduction of the jobs strategy for a just transition.  .

Mrs. Noi added that the knowledge on the measures and strategies to combat climate change, will equip us to make informed decisions, especially in matters concerning the sustainability of the environment and labour market.

The media was charged to intensify education and awareness on the strategy for sustainable environment and action.

Awudu Damani Musah, Senior Skills Advisor for SNV Ghana, shed light on some of the opportunities to be derived from the green jobs.

He said the SNV had completed a pilot programme in two regions, involving some 10 districts on how to create green jobs such as recycling.

Gideon Mankralo, National Project Coordinator for ILO spoke of the global strategies adopted by each country towards achieving environmental sustainability.

Ernest Berko, Deputy Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation added that the objectives of the strategy were to ensure that the transition from brown to green economy was smooth and socially inclusive.

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