LABOUR LAWS AND INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

UNIT 1 SECTION
INDUSTRIAL 5
RELATIONS Unit 1, section 5: Industrial disputes

If the parties to the collective bargaining fail to reach an agreement, they

would either resort to mediation, arbitration or work stoppage (industrial
action). In mediation, a third party is brought to the negotiation table.
Otherwise, an employer may restrict work that normally would be available
for employees, generally by suspending work or closing the place of
employment (lockout). Similarly, employees may refuse to work in order to
compel an employer to agree to expected terms and conditions they want
(strike).

The main objective of this session is to provide the major forms of industrial
disputes at the workplace. After a successful completion of the session, the
student is expected to:
 Understand the general principles, and concepts underlying industrial
action in Ghana;
 Recognise the main industrial actions that are commonly undertaken by
employers and employees
 Comprehend the legal framework within which industrial action can be
undertaken in Ghana

Meaning of industrial action

Act 651 has defined an industrial action to mean any dispute between an
employer and one or more workers or between workers and workers which
relates to the terms and conditions of employment, the physical condition in
which workers are required to work, the employment and non-employment
or termination or suspension of employment of one or more and the social
and economic interests of the workers. Industrial action does not include
any one of the following matters:
 The interpretation of this Act 651;
 A collective agreement or contract of employment;
 Any matter which by agreement between the parties to a collective
agreement or contract of employment does not give cause for industrial
action.

An industrial action may be undertaken by either the employee through a

strike action or the employer through a lockout or both.

Meaning of strike and lockouts

A strike is any action undertaken by two or more workers acting in concert,
which is intended to restrict in any way the service they normally provide to
the employer or diminish the output of such service with a view to applying
coercive pressure upon the employer. They include the sympathy strike,
work-to-rule strike, go slow strike, and sit down strike. A sympathy strike is
a strike by a body of workers, not because of grievances against their own
employer, but by way of endorsing and aiding another group of workers
who are on strike or have been locked out. A work-to-rule strike is a strike
in which workers collectively decide to do only what they are legally

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obliged to do in regard to their work and nothing more. It occurs when

employees work concertedly in following the terms of their contracts to the
letter, and in furtherance of an industrial demand which entails an
obstruction of their work. The go slow strike is one in which the strikers
work slowly in order to put pressure on their employer to agree to their
demands.

In a sit down strike, the strikers sit inside the factory, refusing to work and
preventing other people from performing their jobs.

Other types of strike include the rotation and the intermittent. The rotation
strike is the strike that occurs in one or certain sections or sectors of an
organization or economy at any given time, then moves to another or other
sections/sectors. An intermittent strike is a repeat of strikes, each lasting for
a short time, e.g. a few hours each day or during each shift.

A lockout, on the other hand, is the closing of a workplace, the suspension

of work by an employer or refusal of an employer to employ or re-engage
any number of his or her workers, in consequence of an industrial dispute. It
is the exclusion by an employer of employees from the employer’s
workplace for the purpose of compelling the employees to accept a demand
in respect of any matter of mutual interest between employer and employee,
whether or not the employer breaches those employees’s contract of
employment in the course of or for the purpose of that exclusion.

The legal framework of strikes and lockouts in Ghana

In Ghana, a strike or lockout is legal if it is in sympathy with or in support
of a strike action taken by another worker or group of workers against their
employer on an account of an industrial dispute with the employer. The
form of a strike or lockout in sympathy shall be in a form agreed upon with
the management of the sympathizers and shall not disrupt the operational
activities of the enterprise whose workers are the sympathizers.

Under the labour Act of Ghana, a person who declares, instigates or incites
others to take part in a strike or lockout or acts in furtherance of a strike or a
lockout shall be liable for any damage, loss or injury suffered by any other
person as a result of the illegal strike or lockout. A worker who takes part in
an illegal strike may have his or her services terminated by the employer
without notice for breach of his or her contract of employment or may
forfeit his or her remuneration in respect of the period during which he or
she is engaged in the illegal strike. Contrarily, an employer who resorts to
illegal lockout is liable to pay the unpaid remuneration of the workers.

During any lawful strike or lockout, the employment relationship between

the employer and the worker shall not be affected by the strike or lockout,
and any termination of the contract of employment as a result of the lawful
strike or lockout is void. Furthermore, no civil proceedings shall be brought

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against any worker, employer, trade union or employer’s organization or an

officer or a member of such trade union or employer’s organization in
respect of any lawful strike or lockout action taken in conformity with the
provisions of Act 651. This is termed the legal effect of lawful strike or
lockout.

An employer may not employ any person to perform the work of a worker
participating in a lawful strike unless the work is necessary to secure
essential minimum maintenance services at the undertaking. Minimum
maintenance services are those services in an undertaking the interruption of
which would result in material damage to equipment and machinery and
which by agreement between the workers and the employer under a
collective agreement should be maintained during strike or lockout. A
worker has the right to refuse to do any work normally performed by the
worker who is participating in lawful strike except that the worker shall not
refuse to perform the work if it is necessary to secure minimum
maintenance.

It is lawful in furtherance of a lawful strike or lockout for any person to be

present at or near but not less than ten meters away from his or her
workplace or former workplace or place of business of the employer or
former employer, for the purpose of peacefully communicating information
or peacefully persuading any other person not to enter the workplace or
place of business, work or deal in or handle the employers’ products or do
business with the employer. This is termed picketing. Picketing is unlawful
if it is conducted at a place less than ten meters away from the workplace or
place of business of the worker, and any person who engages in an unlawful
picketing is liable for any damage, loss or injury suffered by any other
person as a result of the unlawful picketing.

The regulatory system in the Ghanaian industrial law has its roots in the
collective agreement or the employment contract. The terms in these two
documents contain clauses whereby disputes may be resolved by
negotiation. When negotiation fails between the employer and the
employee, various dispute resolution alternatives like mediation and
arbitration may be considered. However, if a dispute cannot be resolved by
mediation or arbitration, employees and employers may resort to industrial
action in the form of strikes or lockout to showcase their demands. In order
to maintain industrial peace in the country, the Labour Act has a list of
provisions for guiding unnecessary industrial disputes that may distort
productivity in Ghana.

Self-assessment questions
(1) Explain how mediation and arbitration may be used to reduce the current
industrial unrest in Ghana

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(2) What is an industrial action? Which matters cannot be included in an

industrial action in Ghana? Explain any two forms of industrial action
that may legally be embarked upon in Ghana
(3) What is a strike? Explain any four types of strikes in Ghana.

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