Over 200 officers of the Ghana Police Service who were injured in the line of duty have appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to help secure appropriate compensation due them.
According to the offices, they have processed all their claims and submitted them to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations for as long as three years by the state.
The affected officers sustained the injuries through circumstances such as being shot or stabbed by criminals while apprehending them, through accidents as dispatch riders or driving in a convoy, as well as through motor accidents while pursuing armed robbers.
The Workmen�s Compensation Insurance Act of 1987 mandates every employer in the country to provide compensation to any employee who sustains personal injuries by accident in the course of work.
It also, among others, binds the employer of foot medical expresses based on the compensation payable after it has been decided by the labour office.
Government, as the employer, has the duty to honour its liabilities under the Workmen�s law by paying appropriate compensations due injured public servants.
And police officers, as public servants, are entitled to workmen�s compensation.
Some of the officers who spoke to The Finder on condition of anonymity said officials of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations told them that all documents had been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for payment of the said compensation.
Some of them said they submitted their applications to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations since 2011 and followed up regularly, but anytime they went there, they were told, �there is no money.
One of the officer�s said he was shot in the leg by armed robbers during a routine police operation in one of the suburbs in Accra
The officer lamented that this predicament had brought a lot of financial stress on his family, adding that �I�m virtually not as active as I used to be and you can see that I�m limping.�
The Finder�s further investigations have it that other victims include ambulance drivers and other men of the service who are still to receive any attention as regards compensation.
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