WORKERS ON WARPATH OVER PENSION

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Baring any hitches, public service workers will embark on a strike action today to put pressure on the government to pay their mandatory monthly deductions under the Tier 2 Pension Scheme.

It emerged that the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has not paid the mandatory 5% Tier Two monthly deductions since the scheme commenced in April 2016.

According to the workers, the government is hampering the smooth operation of the 2^nd Tier Occupational Pension Schemes in the public sector which has put the pensions of workers in danger.

Twelve labour unions that have vowed to be part of this nationwide strike today include the Health Service Workers Union (HSWU), Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA), Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Physician Assistants Association (GPAA), Ghana Hospital and Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA), Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists (GACRA), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) of TUC, National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG).

Dr. Isaac Bampoe-Addo, who is the Chairman of the Forum of Public Sector Labour Unions and doubles as Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, yesterday, said “Our demand was that the second tier should be transferred to our custodian banks but as we speak now, nothing has been done.”

“If it’s transferred tomorrow, then we do not have a problem but if not then we will have a meeting on the 15th to decide the way forward.”

He said, “The communiqué that was issued was very clear that if by 15th nothing happens then we are going to lay down our tools. What we are saying is that the money should be transferred to our custodian banks. We started this fight two years ago.”

Later, the National Labour Commission (NLC) said it had not received any formal notification from the unions on the intended industrial action and said it would be illegal to go on strike.

On October 26, the workers vowed to start a strike action from today if the NDC government failed to comply with the statutory obligation by paying the money into the custodian banks that were nominated by the government even against the wish of the workers.

Mahama’s Directive

At the behest of President John Mahama, the leadership of the various workers group met the Attorney General and the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations in May 2015 to settle the case out-of-court which was initiated by the government against the workers over the Tier 2 scheme.

In what turned out to be consent judgement, the government, as the employer, agreed to ensure that effective April 1, 2016, it would transfer the 5% Tier 2 monthly deductions made by the Controller and Accountant General and pay directly to the pension custodian banks duly appointed by the government itself.

It was also agreed that the National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA) shall ensure that the transfer of funds currently held in the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to custodian banks of the four schemes was completed by July 2, 2016.

The government again promised to reimburse the defendant workers “reasonable expenses incurred in setting up their trusts and schemes, as well as any reasonable legal fees incurred in the course of the litigation of the suit.”

Dr. Bampoe-Addo said, “The delay in transferring the 5% Tier 2 monthly deductions to custodian banks nominated by the government itself is worrying.”

He said the leadership of the workers had made efforts to get the audited TPFA.

“As we speak, we don’t know how much has accrued. The deafening silence on the part of the government concerning the transfer of funds is clearly in contravention of the court judgement.”

The workers rubbished the recent directive by Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrissu to the Controller and Accountant General to release the funds to various custodian banks, saying that the President and Minister of Finance have the power to instruct the Controller.

“It’s a ploy. When they got intelligence that we were going to expose them, they quickly got the minister to issue the directive to the Controller.”