Title
Union ‘facilitation effect’ and access to non-wage benefits in the Ghanaian labour market
Date Issued
02 July 2020
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Owoo N.S.
Lambon-Quayefio M.P.
Manu S.B.
Publisher(s)
Routledge
Abstract
Effective access to mandatory non-wage benefits is key to workers achieving decent working conditions. This paper investigates the effects of union presence on workers’ access to non-wage benefits in the Ghanaian labor market. The study draws its data from the 2012–2013 Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 6) and specifies a multivariate model that simultaneously controls for endogeneity and potential sample-selection biases. We find that unions have a significant effect on facilitation among workers by improving awareness of and access to work benefits. Other factors that affect benefit entitlements in Ghana include the gender of a worker, urbanization, firm size, sector formality, public v.s. private sector jobs, type of occupation, and the presence of work contracts amongst others. Results presented here indicate that workers from formal-sector firms with union presence are more likely to have access to non-wage benefits. It is also found that despite the statutory nature of these non-wage benefits, non-compliance was common, predominantly in the informal sector but also in the formal sector. This is particularly the case with respect to maternity leave benefits and indicates a need for greater enforcement of these laws.
Start page
240
End page
255
Volume
48
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Economía
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85090226819
Source
Oxford Development Studies
ISSN of the container
13600818
Sponsor(s)
This research work was carried out with financial and scientific support from the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom (or UK Aid), and the Government of Canada through the International Development Research Center (IDRC). This paper is developed from the working paper by Owoo et al. (2017). The authors are also grateful to Prof. Luca Tiberti for technical support and guidance. This work was supported by the Partnership for Economic Policy; Department for International Development (DFID); International Development Research Center (IDRC). This research work was carried out with financial and scientific support from the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom (or UK Aid), and the Government of Canada through the International Development Research Center (IDRC). This paper is developed from the working paper by Owoo et al. (2017). The authors are also grateful to Prof. Luca Tiberti for technical support and guidance.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus