The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) has developed and launched a micro data dissemination policy (MDDP) to serve as a guideline on how data, generated by the Ministry, could be disseminated and accessed by other stakeholders.
The policy is also for observing policy implementation and decision-making relating to labour market outcomes.
It was developed by the Research, Statistics and Information Management (RSIM) Directorate of the MELR, in collaboration with the Ghana Statistical Service.
Mandate of Ministry
In a speech read on his behalf to launch the policy in Accra last Monday, the Chief Director of MELR, Kizito Ballans, said the MDDP would help the Ministry to achieve its mandate.
The Ministry’s mandate, he highlighted, was to develop policies on employment and labour issues, monitor and evaluate the implementation of policies, and promote the elimination of child labour, among others.
“To fulfil these mandates, evidence-based data is required and must be readily available in order to make the implementation and monitoring of policies possible,” Mr Ballans said in his address read by the Director in Charge of Human Resources at the Ministry, Rhonda Gavor.
In line with the effort to enhance the achievement of the Ministry’s mandate, the Chief Director said the Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on August 30, this year to establish a framework for collaboration between the two institutions on the production and use of employment and labour statistics in the country.
Mr Ballans explained that the development of the MDDP would further strengthen the existing bond between the ministry, its departments, agencies and the GSS and enable them to share data, knowledge, and experiences, and encourage the effective and efficient dissemination of data across sectors.
Additionally, he said it would facilitate increased usage of data across all sectors simultaneously and create a single source of verification for all data generated by the ministry.
Apart from formalising data availability and sharing, he said it would also encourage feedback from internal and external stakeholders.
Types of data
The Ag. Director in charge of Research, Statistics and Information Management at the Ministry, George Amoah, said the policy would cover administration and surveys.
He listed users of the data to include the ministries, departments and agencies, policy makers, academic institutions, international and donor partners, employers and job seekers, among others.
The policy was based on the Ghana Statistical Service Act, 2019 (Act 1003) which states that data collected was strictly confidential and exclusively used for statistical purposes.
Mr Amoah added that data would be processed in a lawful manner without infringing on the privacy of respondents and shall not be released without the consent and authorisation of the chief director of the MELR.
