Episode 6 – LABOUR LAW REFORM IN GHANA
Labour Administration Reform: From the Labour Department to the National Labour Authority
6.1 Introduction
Beyond substantive rights and obligations, one of the quieter but structurally significant reforms in the Draft Labour Bill, 2025 concerns labour administration itself. The Bill proposes a transition from the existing Labour Department to a National Labour Authority (NLA).
This reform is not about replacing institutions that resolve disputes, nor is it about centralising power. Rather, it reflects a deliberate effort to strengthen labour administration, inspection, and compliance, in line with the evolving complexity of Ghana’s labour market.
This episode examines the role of the current Labour Department, the rationale for establishing the National Labour Authority, and what this shift means in practice.
6.2 The Current Labour Department
The Labour Department operates as a department within the Ministry responsible for labour. Historically, its functions have included:
a. Labour inspection,
b. Enforcement of basic employment standards,
c. Registration of Trade Unions and oversight of employment-related matters,
d. Advisory and administrative support to the Ministry.
While these functions are essential, the Department’s capacity has often been shaped by:
a. Limited resources,
b. Broad administrative mandates,
c. Overlapping roles with other institutions,
d. An emphasis on responding to complaints rather than proactive compliance.
Importantly, the Labour Department has functioned primarily as an administrative arm of the Ministry, rather than as a specialised regulatory authority.
6.3 The National Labour Authority under the Draft Labour Bill, 2025
The Draft Labour Bill proposes the establishment of a National Labour Authority as a statutory body dedicated to labour administration, inspection, and enforcement.
The Authority is designed to:
a. Oversee labour inspection and compliance,
b. Monitor adherence to employment standards,
c. Enforce workplace obligations under the Bill,
d. Support the implementation of new regulatory areas, including platform labour and 24-hour operations,
e. Promote preventive compliance rather than post-violation correction.
Crucially, the Authority is not conceived as a dispute resolution body. Its role is regulatory and administrative, not adjudicatory.
6.4 Clear Separation from the National Labour Commission
A key feature of this reform is institutional clarity.
Under the Draft Labour Bill:
a. The National Labour Authority focuses on inspection, compliance, and enforcement;
b. The National Labour Commission (NLC) retains its mandate over dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration.
This separation reduces role confusion and strengthens the effectiveness of both institutions. Employers and workers can clearly distinguish between:
where compliance issues are addressed, and
where disputes are resolved.
6.5 From Reactive Administration to Preventive Compliance
One of the most important shifts introduced by the National Labour Authority is a move from reactive administration to preventive regulation.
Rather than engaging only after violations or disputes arise, the Authority is expected to:
promote compliance systems at the workplace,
support early identification of risks,
encourage internal grievance handling,
reduce unnecessary escalation to external dispute resolution.
This approach aligns with modern labour governance, where prevention is recognised as more effective than sanction alone.
6.6 Why This Reform Matters Now
Ghana’s labour market has become more complex: platform-based work, continuous and shift-based operations,
multi-site and digital workplaces, diversified forms of employment relationships. The Draft Labour Bill recognises that effective labour administration must evolve alongside these realities. The establishment of a National Labour Authority reflects a policy choice to strengthen institutional capacity, rather than simply expand substantive rights on paper.
6.7 What This Reform Does Not Do
It is important to be precise.
The establishment of the National Labour Authority does not:
abolish or weaken the National Labour Commission,
replace courts or adjudicatory bodies,
eliminate ministerial policy oversight,
introduce a punitive inspection regime by default.
Instead, it seeks to improve coordination, clarity, and effectiveness in labour administration.
6.8 Conclusion
The proposed National Labour Authority under the Draft Labour Bill, 2025 reflects an understanding that modern labour law requires not only substantive protections, but also strong, specialised institutions capable of ensuring compliance.
By separating labour administration from dispute resolution, and by strengthening inspection and enforcement capacity, the Bill seeks to make labour regulation more effective, predictable, and responsive to contemporary work arrangements.
This reform complements rather than disrupts Ghana’s existing labour relations framework.
Kenneth K. Koomson
Member, Labour Bill Drafting Committee