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Government has begun negotiations with mining companies in the country to halt any move to lay off workers this year over fallen gold prices.

According to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, government is putting in place measures to cushion mining companies from the price plunge.

Most mining companies in Ghana last year, began massive downsizing of their operations, as renewed pressure to cut down on cost heightened, with falling gold prices, which affected over 2000 permanent jobs in the mining industry in the country.

Industry players had predicted that gold may end March 2016 at 1,289 dollars an ounce, the commodity is however now selling at 1,237.40 dollars an ounce.

Speaking to Citi Business News Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Professor Bruce Banoeng – Yakubo hoped that current dynamics do not change but assured that the ministry was working to prevent layoffs in the industry “Government is in discussions with the mining companies to ensure that labour exposure to high retrenchment is minimized.

There have been a lot of engagement with the minerals commission and the mining companies in relation to the quotas of human capital that they can bring from outside and what should be typically Ghanaian. There have been also discussions with the Ministry of Employment and social protection.

If you look at the Anglogold Ashanti situation it was different as the mine only wanted to close part of the mine and they paid the workers very well during their retrenchment’.