ACCRA, Ghana — Ghana has directed its mining regulator to standardise wages and employment conditions across the mining industry, seeking to protect workers as the country prepares to transfer more mining operations from multinational companies to local contractors.

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources announced the directive on Wednesday, instructing the Minerals Commission to ensure that workers do not suffer reductions in wages, benefits or other employment conditions as mining companies transition from owner-operated activities to contract mining.

The policy forms part of Ghana’s local-content drive, which requires mining operators to transfer certain operational activities to Ghanaian contractors by December. Companies affected include Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, Zijin and Ghana Manganese Company.

However, labour unions have raised concerns that the transition could leave workers worse off, particularly if contractors offer lower salaries or fewer employment benefits than multinational mining companies.

Under the new directive, the Minerals Commission must harmonise salaries, wages and employment conditions across the mining value chain. The regulator has also been tasked with developing a classification system for mining contractors based on their operational capacity.

The commission is expected to complete the process and submit proposals for implementation by 30 November, ahead of the planned December transition.

The ministry also warned that it would adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards unfair labour practices, cartelisation, bid-rigging and fronting arrangements that undermine the objectives of the local-content policy. Fronting involves arrangements in which a business appears to meet local ownership or participation requirements while the actual control or benefits remain elsewhere.

Ghana, Africa’s leading gold producer, has been seeking to increase local participation in its mining industry by expanding opportunities for domestic businesses. The latest directive aims to advance that objective while preventing the transfer of mining operations from resulting in poorer employment conditions.

The Minerals Commission had not immediately responded to a request for comment on the directive.

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