The International Labour Organisation (ILO), in partnership with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), has launched a High-Level Productivity Statistics Technical Working Group in Accra. This initiative, formed under the Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work Programme, aims to develop methodologies and policies to optimize the use of productivity data reports.
The Working Group will facilitate dialogue between users and data producers, ensure the relevance of statistical work, guide methodology, and promote the utilization of productivity reports. Professor Samuel Annim, the Government Statistician, highlighted the current absence of officially produced labour and multi-factor productivity statistics in Ghana, which are crucial for evidence-based policymaking and wage determination.
In February 2023, the ILO commissioned an international consultant to collaborate with the GSS in conducting a statistical assessment to identify data availability, gaps, and recommendations for labour and multi-factor productivity measurement. Mr. David Marcos, representing the ILO, emphasized that this collaboration is part of the implementation of the Productivity Ecosystem for Decent Work project, funded by the Governments of Norway and Switzerland.
The initiative, a global multi-country program initiated by the ILO in 2021, operates in Ghana, Vietnam, and South Africa. It aims to promote productivity growth for decent work by enhancing productivity drivers across policy, sector, and enterprise levels. Mrs. Gloria Borterle Noi, the Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, commended ILO's commitment to promoting decent work and enhancing productivity.
She emphasized the importance of evidence-based policymaking and data-driven decision-making in shaping inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Productivity statistics, she noted, play a crucial role in guiding policy formation, labour market interventions, and investment strategies, especially amidst global challenges such as technological disruptions and demographic shifts.
Mrs. Borterle Noi called for strengthened partnerships and collaboration among governments, employers' and workers' organizations, research institutions, and other stakeholders. She urged the Technical Group to leverage its expertise and resources to develop comprehensive and robust productivity measurement frameworks that address the complexities of the modern economy and ensure the well-being of all stakeholders.