40 MPs sue govt: Court turns down Fair Wages joinder application
The Labour Division of the Accra High Court has dismissed an application by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to join a legal action initiated by 40 former Members of Parliament (MPs) against the government over the payment of their pension.
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The FWSC filed an application for joinder to be a defendant in the suit in which each of the former MPs is demanding GH¢233,495, which they claim was their accrued monthly pension pay since January 2009.
The FWSC, in its application, argued that its presence in the legal action was necessary to assist the court in arriving at an effective determination of the suit.
It contended that it was the government’s main adviser on matters relating to pensions, emoluments and retiring benefits and the repository of all “knowledge and record concerning these matters’’.
“Considering the issues arising in the matter, the presence of the FWSC in the suit is necessary and proper in the public interest for the complete and effective determination of the suit,’’ it argued.
No need
However, in a ruling last Tuesday, the court, presided over by Mrs Justice Gifty Dekyem, held that there was no need for the FWSC to get involved because the suit did not fall under its mandate.
According to the court, under the FWSC Act, 2007 (Act 737), the commission was responsible for the implementation of the government public service pay policy structure but not office holders outlined under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
Article 71 office holders include the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of Parliament, MPs, the Chief Justice, Auditor–General, Presidential Staffers among other officials.
The court further asserted that the suit was purely against the state, and it was for that reason the Attorney-General (A-G) was one of the defendants.
“The interest of justice can be achieved without joining the applicant as a defendant to the suit,’’ the court held.
Suit
All the 40 MPs who initiated the action served between the years 2000 and 2008.
They include Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Dr Kwame Ampofo, Mr Kwamina Bartels, Mr Freddie Blay, Mr Kenneth Dzirasah, Ms Christine Churcher, Mr Isaac E. Edumadze and Mr Nkrabea Effah-Darteh.
Joined to the suit as defendants are the A-G and the Minister of Finance.
The basis of the legal action is the Chinnery-Hesse Presidential Emoluments Committee (PEC) which recommended that parliamentarians who were 50 years and above and exited Parliament, having served two full terms, should be paid some sums of money as pension benefits.
Distress
The plaintiffs, in their statement of claim, averred that since 2011, they had been negotiating with the government through the Ministry of Finance and the leadership of Parliament for their pensions to be paid but the negotiations had proved futile.
“Several attempts, demands or requests made on the government to have these pension benefits paid to the plaintiffs have proved futile,” they claimed.