Tema, Sept 19, GNA – Dr Yaw Baah, Secretary General, Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana, has reiterated the union’s calls on government to rectify the “unfairness and discrimination” in the implementation of the three-tier pension scheme and adjust upwards, the low lump-sum benefits of pensioners.
The TUC said pensioners were being shortchanged in terms of the lump-sum benefits they received, adding that the situation, including the miscomputation of Past Credit by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), was worrying and would not be allowed to continue.
He indicated that workers who retired from January 2020 were worse-off as they were receiving lump sums benefits way lower than what they would have received from SSNIT had they retired under PNDC Law 247 – which required SSNIT to pay 25 per cent lump sum to contributors.
Dr Yaw Baah who was speaking at a regional forum on pensions in Tema, called on government to engage stakeholders to address the anomaly and make the pensions scheme more sustainable.
The forum, organised by the TUC in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, sought to, among other objectives, sensitize members on pension reforms in Ghana, overview and implementation of Act 766, which introduced the three-tier pension scheme.
He said there had been a series of attempts, albeit unsuccessful, to get government to convene a stakeholders meeting to address the concerns and related issues of pensioners.
Dr Baah added that there was some apparent discrimination in the payment of pensions which ought to be adequately addressed, explaining that the reforms that led to the current pension scheme was not being implemented appropriately to address the concerns of workers and pensioners.
He, therefore, called on government to as a matter of urgency convene a stakeholder’s dialogue to further discuss ways of addressing the “unfair, unjust and discriminatory” treatment being meted out to pensioners and ultimately strengthen the pension scheme.
Mr Reynolds Ofosu Tenkorange, General Secretary, Health Services Workers’ Union of the TUC, advised Ghanaian workers to prepare adequately towards pension and reap the benefits thereof.
He reiterated the need for government to organize a stakeholder forum to address the challenges workers were confronted with, particularly to ensure that pensioners got what was suitably due them.
GNA