The Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Ghana, Mr. Rolf A. Olson, led a four-member U.S. delegation for 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, 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 USD 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 envoy among other things raised concerns about:
• False labour recruitment and sex trafficking
• Forced labour, especially within cocoa-growing communities
• Organised criminal networks recruiting individuals under the guise of employment opportunities in the United States, only for victims to end up in Southeast Asia and other unintended destinations
• Victims of forced labour being used to defraud U.S. citizens.
They further 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 also raised about exploitative labour practices in foreign medical deployments, where workers are reportedly compelled to surrender portions of their salaries and are restricted from visiting their families – practices described as unacceptable and requiring firm intervention.
Government of Ghana’s Response
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 also highlighted key government interventions, including:
• Child Labour elimination initiatives such as the development of the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan on Child Labour
• Collaboration with partners to curb child labour at the district level, with particular focus on the Western Region
• Capacity-building programmes by NGOs for District Labour Officers on child labour identification and enforcement
• A Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) for migrant workers, to be supported with a structured PDO Manual currently being developed.
• Acknowledgement that sex trafficking falls under the mandate of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, with reference to recent enforcement actions such as the QNet case.
• Efforts by the state security agencies such as the Police CID unit, Economic and Organised Crime Unit among other relevant state bodies to crack down on cyber related crime.
The Minister 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 noted that the Ghana Labour Market Information System (GLMIS), which would soon become operational, has been developed to regulate recruitment processes, provide credible labour market information, and prevent employment fraud. He said when the system is deployed, it can be accessible at all the 16 regional Public Employment Centers in the country.
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. Mathew Hickey, Deputy Director at the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and Mr. Michael Kmiecinski of the Political Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy.
Present at the meeting was Mr. Hamidu Adaklugu Esq. Chief Director, Dr. Smith Graham Chief Executive Officer of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Mr. Dauda Braimah Ag. Chief Labour Officer, Mr. Shadrach Mensah Director of Research Statistics and Information Management, Mr. Eyram D K Tottimeh Jnr, Head of Public Affairs among others.
Source: Public Affairs Unit, MLJE
