By Ibrahim Khalilulani Usman, GNA
Kumasi Aug. 04, GNA – The Green Africa Youth Organisation (GAYO), together with the government and development partners, have officially launched the Ghana National Union for Informal Waste Workers.
The event, themed “From Informality to Inclusion: Recognising Informal Waste Workers as Essential Actors in Ghana’s Circular Economy,” brought together waste worker leaders from all sixteen regions of Ghana alongside government officials, development partners, and private sector actors.
The launch marks the culmination of a five-year journey by GAYO to mobilise and organise waste pickers across the country; a process that began with a single waste picker cooperative and has grown into a nationwide movement recognising the environmental and economic contribution of informal waste workers.
The new union gives informal waste workers, several of whom recover recyclable materials, divert waste from landfills, and supply industries with secondary raw materials, a unified voice to engage the government, municipalities, industry, and development partners for the first time.
Its mandate includes advocating for safer working conditions, stronger worker organisations, better access to markets, social protection, occupational health and safety, and meaningful participation in policy decisions affecting the sector.
Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, Ghana’s Minister for Labor, Jobs and Employment, confirmed the union’s formation as a lawful exercise under the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) and Ghana’s ratified International Labor Organisation conventions on freedom of association.
“The formation of the National Informal Waste Worker Union is therefore a lawful exercise of constitutional and statutory underpinnings, and government fully recognizes this important development,” he said, pledging government commitment to safe workplaces, social dialogue, and inclusive employment for the sector.
Speaking on behalf of GAYO, Richard Matey said the launch reflected years of organising and relationship-building.
He noted that recognition required organisation, representation, and partnerships, and such understanding had shaped the journey that has brought the union this far, adding that inclusion for the sector was therefore an ongoing process that would continue with legal recognition, municipal integration, and expanded market access.
Representatives from the Government and GAYO both described the launch as a starting point rather than an endpoint.
Priorities going forward included strengthening the union’s institutional capacity, expanding partnerships with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), improving access to social protection and occupational health services, and integrating waste workers more fully into Ghana’s circular economy and Extended Producer Responsibility systems.
The initiative had been supported by funding partners including the UMI Fund, The Earthshot Prize, Global Methane Hub, and the Clean Air Fund, alongside technical and institutional partners such as Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), the Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership (Ghana NPAP), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, People’s Dialogue, Impact Footprint Africa, IESS Legon, Green Growth Africa, Work First Mile, CONIWAS, and a wide network of government institutions, recycling companies, and civil society organizations.
GAYO has extended an open invitation to government institutions, private companies, producer responsibility organisations, research institutions, foundations, and development partners not yet involved, to join in the effort.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/ Christabel Addo