The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Ghana, Mr. Rolf A. Olson, has led a four-member U.S. delegation in a bilateral engagement with the Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, to discuss issues of human trafficking, forced labour, child labour, and employment-related fraud.
Briefing the Minister on the purpose of the visit, Mr. Matthew Hickey, Deputy Director at the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, noted that human trafficking and labour-related crimes remain major global concerns and continue to receive high-level attention from the U.S. Government.
He disclosed that the United States lost over US$10 billion to scams in the past year alone, many of which are linked to organised transnational criminal networks.
The delegation commended the Government of Ghana for the stricter measures being implemented to curb trafficking, labour fraud, and related crimes, including the extradition of individuals involved in transnational criminal activities.
The U.S. envoy raised concerns about false labour recruitment, sex trafficking, forced labour in cocoa-growing areas, and organised criminal networks exploiting victims for fraud targeting U.S. citizens.
The delegation also highlighted the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by criminal networks and encouraged the adoption of AI-driven tools to help detect, track, and disrupt fraudulent activities.
Concerns were further raised about exploitative labour practices in foreign medical deployments, where workers are reportedly compelled to surrender portions of their salaries and restricted from visiting their families, practices described as unacceptable and requiring firm intervention.
In his response, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo reaffirmed Ghana’s long-standing collaboration with the United States and expressed the Ministry’s readiness to deepen cooperation in combating forced labour and employment fraud for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The Minister outlined government measures to tackle child labour, including national action plans, district-level interventions, capacity-building for labour officers, and a pre-departure orientation programme for migrant workers.
He also acknowledged that sex trafficking falls under the mandate of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, referencing recent enforcement actions such as the QNet case, and cited efforts by state security agencies, including the Police Criminal Investigations Department and the Economic and Organised Crime Office, to crack down on cyber-related crimes.
Dr. Pelpuo reiterated that the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment serves as the central conduit for all employment-related matters, both domestic and international, for government.
He further noted that the Ghana Labour Market Information System (GLMIS), which is expected to become operational soon, has been developed to regulate recruitment processes, provide credible labour market information, and prevent employment fraud.
When deployed, the system will be accessible across all 16 regional Public Employment Centres nationwide.
In conclusion, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration in addressing human trafficking, forced labour, child labour, and employment scams.
The U.S. envoy encouraged the Ministry to identify areas of mutual benefit and assured the U.S. Embassy’s continued support for Ghana’s efforts.
The U.S. delegation included Mr. Matthew Hickey, Deputy Director at the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and Mr. Michael Kmiecinski of the Political Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy.
Officials present at the meeting included Mr. Hamidu Adaklugu Esq., Chief Director; Dr. Smith Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission; Mr. Dauda Braimah, Acting Chief Labour Officer; Mr. Shadrach Mensah, Director of Research, Statistics and Information Management; and Mr. Eyram D. K. Tottimeh Jnr., Head of Public Affairs, among others.
Source: myxyzonline.com
