[ad_1]
Employment and Labor Relations Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah says 2,849 jobs have been restored as a result of government intervention by easing restrictions.
According to him, the figure represents 24 percent of the 11,657 jobs lost in the country as a result of Covid-19.
At the Ministry’s press conference on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, Awuah said that the incidence of job losses was highest among micro-enterprises, accounting for 36 percent of the total number, and lowest in large-scale establishments. scale, accounting for 23 percent.
In the economic sector, the minister revealed that the highest incidence of job losses (65 percent) was recorded in other services such as recruitment agencies, the media and laundry services.
This was followed by 49 percent of job losses in construction, 45 percent in hotels and restaurants, and 43 percent in private sector education.
The shipping or maritime subsector, along with finance, agriculture, health and social work, suffered the lowest incidence of job losses, a total of only one percent.
The Employment Minister also said the figures were the results of a Pilot Labor Market Survey commissioned by the Ministry to assess the impact of COVID-19 on job losses and pay cuts.
The survey covered 878 companies nationwide and involved a total of 44,040 employees consisting of micro (1-4 employees), small (5-29 employees), medium (30-99 employees), and large (100 above employees) companies.
According to the survey results, 17,685 of 44,040 (40 percent) workers suffered pay cuts.
These pay cuts were reportedly highest among medium-scale establishments, affecting 46 percent of workers, and lowest among small-scale businesses, affecting 38 percent of them.
Awuah further added that more than 50 percent of workers in the construction and services sectors suffered pay cuts, and between 29 and 42 percent of workers in manufacturing, entertainment and events, sports, hotels and Restaurants, as well as mining, also suffered pay cuts.
The survey showed that wage cuts were lowest in the financial subsector (5 percent), followed by shipping or maritime transport, which recorded 18.9 percent wage cuts.
In addressing establishments that adopted wage-cutting strategies to keep workers on payroll, the survey suggested that 21 percent of these establishments cut wages by 10 percent or less to involve about 3,870 workers.
The minister also said that 37 percent of the establishments cut wages by 10 to 30 percent, while 29 percent of them cut wages by 30 to 50 percent.
The wage cuts, according to him, affected 11,833 workers, noting that 1,982 workers in approximately 13 percent of the establishments reduced workers’ incomes by more than 50 percent.
