Ghana’s Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MERL) is developing a National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) to improve and harness the benefits of labour migration.

Speaking on the importance of the Policy at a workshop in Accra last Thursday, Mr Ernest Berko, a Deputy Director of Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation of the MERL, noted that "recent reportage of abuse of Ghanaian labour migrants in Libya and the Gulf States has given rise to the development of a new National Policy".

"The Policy would ratify the International instruments on labour migration and implement stiffer penal systems to deal with private employment agencies and government officials that violate rules governing fair and ethical recruitment", he added.

The moves follow a temporary ban on agencies recruiting Ghanaians for domestic work in the Gulf States by the Ministry of Employment in 2017

The Ghana Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) outlines rules for the engagement of labour. Labour recruitment agencies after registering at the Registrar Generals Department need a signed Private Employment Certificate from MERL to operate legally.

The workshop was held on the theme "Promoting International Professional Labour Mobility for Decent Jobs: The Role of the Ghana Employment Service".