Master-trainers at vocational training centers in the northern region have been cautioned by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) against the maltreatment of apprentices.
The commission advised the trainers to respect apprentices learning at those centers without infringing on their fundamental human rights.
The CHRAJ’s caution came against a deluge of complaints of the maltreatment of apprentices learning various skills at the vocational centers. In some cases, apprentices were alleged punished or in other cases, sent to perform household chores instead of learning. Such behavior CHRAJA said violates their fundamental human rights.
CHRAJ said apprentices who seek vocational skills and training need to be respected and recognized by their masters but not to be treated like slaves.
Speaking at NORSAAC Young Urban Women campaign launch for the promotion of Apprentice Rights at Tuutingli in the Tamale metropolis, the CHRAJ Public Education Officer and Investigator in the northern region, Mr. Inusah Iddrisu stressed the need for masters of various training centers to desist from turning their apprentice to slaves.
The practices, he noted, do not augur well for both the trainee and the trainer. The project is expected to promote the rights of apprentice and also create a healthy relationship among them in the region.
Mr. Iddrisu also advised parents to always provide the basic tools needed for their children education to enable them go through the training without any difficulty from their masters. The sole responsibility of masters is to provide the necessary training to the child and not sending their apprentices on errands.
Mr. Iddrisu further stated that the habit of masters assigning female apprentice to under-take household chores exposes them to sexual harassment, hence the need to stop the act.
The respect of the apprentice rights by their masters, Mr. Iddrisu observed, will go a long way to strengthen the relationship between masters and their apprentice.
Masters, Mr Inusah said, should ignore the way their apprentices dress because as most women masters allegedly envy female apprentices who are either well dressed or in possession of mobile phones.
The Project Officer at Gender and Governance unit of NORSSAC, Miss Nancy Yeri assured that NORSSAC will continue pushing the message forward for effective vocational training of young people in its operational area.
The Labour Officer at the Northern region Labour department, Mr. Godwin Bibariwiah Fuoh, on his part, said the department will do all it could to ensure happiness among workers.
The labour department, Mr. Bibariwiah, said will also facilitate the cordial relationship between the employer and the employee. Masters are required by law to give allowances to their apprentices whose work earn them some income, he added.
