Unions Won�t Meet Govt � As They Meet Today To Consider Govt Invitation

Government�s plan to meet 12 labour unions demanding the release of their tier-two pension contributions this morning at 10am will not happen after all. This is because the unions will meet today to decide whether or not to honour the invitation by government to dialogue over the issues. The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations sent letters to the leadership of the unions requesting a meeting at 10am today, but the unions say the letter was delivered late Friday and therefore they can only meet today to take a decision to attend or not. This is because some of the union leaders reside in other regions and would have to travel to Accra today to deliberate with the lawyers on government�s invitation. Speaking to The Finder in an interview yesterday, Mr Reynolds Ofosu Tenkorang, convener for the unions, said some unions cited the case being in court, the late delivery of the letter, and government failing to deliver its proposal as agreed in the last meeting as reasons not to honour the meeting. He was however quick to add that leadership of all 12 labour unions will today meet to decide whether to honour the meeting or not since that is how they operate. He revealed that in the letter inviting unions to the meeting, government proposed to set up one broad scheme for all public sector workers, and in effect collapse schemes set up by the unions and licensed by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA). He was categorical that unions would never accept government�s proposal since government representatives are on the board of schemes set up by unions. Mr Tenkorang said government was free to change its representatives on the board of schemes set up by unions if it so wishes. He explained that at their last meeting, it was agreed the government and unions exchange proposals on their positions by last week Thursday, November 6. According to him, unions sent their proposal to government only for government to tell them that it has given the mandate to a technical committee to work on its proposal, which will be presented to unions when completed. He said the report of the government technical committee has not reached them and therefore do not know what issues would be discussed should they honour the meeting with government. Last week, a report by NPRA to Parliament revealed that government, through the Controller and Accountant General, has failed to transfer GH₵269,269,105.79 of workers� pension contributions to the designated Bank of Ghana account. The controversy over exactly how much has been lodged in the account, and who should manage the tier-two pension funds, forced workers to call a strike that was called off on Tuesday. The NPRA had announced that a total of GH₵1.6 billion has accrued in the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Temporarily Pension Fund Account. But it has emerged that between May 2012 and September 2014, government failed to pay GH₵269,269,105.79 into the account although it collected workers� contributions. The document also shows that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has also failed to transfer contributions collected between June and September 2014 into the account. According to the report, �the total outstanding contributions determined on the basis of Bank Transfer Advices (BTAs) for CAGD as at October 27, 2014 is GH₵269,269,105.79. This amount excludes the amount for the contribution months of August 2014 and September 2014, for which BATs are yet to be issued. The amount of GH₵269,269,105.79 stated above is also without interest on delayed contributions and on unpaid contributions. "It is worth noting that the total amount for outstanding amounts for SSNIT is yet to be determined based on BTAs submitted to NPRA by SSNIT.� The Authority, according to the report to the Finance Committee of Parliament, undertook a number of investments in Treasury Bills and government bonds during the years under review. �These investments were made between April 19, 2010 and October 27, 2014. As at October 27, 2014, the total balance on account and an investment holding of GH₵1,641,117,027.70 was being held at BoG.�