The Trades Union Congress, TUC, is asking government to inject about 18 billion cedis into the various sectors of the economy to help lessen expected job losses from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the TUC, research conducted by its Labour Research and Policy Institute shows the devastating effects of the virus on jobs and livelihoods in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Director of Labour Research and Policy Institute at the TUC, Dr. Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, said government needs to do more to revive the economy and also manage the impact of potential job losses.
“One of the things we did was to estimate the loss of GDP that we are likely to experience because of COVID, and our estimation is based on the data provided by the Minister for Finance when he told Parliament that the 2020 GDP growth which was initially estimated at 6.6% will now be 1.5%. When we look at the numbers, we are looking at an output loss of about 18 billion, and our proposal is for government to find the resources that will fully restore us in terms of the output loss so we are asking government to invest about 18 billion Ghana Cedis into the economy between now and December,” he said.
Following the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus in the country, many employers and employees have been severely hit. It has also brought many businesses in the major economic sectors to a standstill, causing huge financial losses.
Currently, people have to cope with the possibility of losing their jobs should the pandemic persist for a long time.
Already, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has predicted that 25 million jobs are threatened by the pandemic.
COVID-19: TUC, Employers Association calls for stimulus support for big businesses
Last month, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Ghana Employers Association, called on government to extend its stimulus support to cover big businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, the government has also set aside a GHS600 million soft loan scheme with a two-year repayment plan for small and medium scale businesses.
