Make pensions your business, ICU tells workers
The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has urged workers to make pensions their business even as active employees.
The General Secretary of the ICU, Mr Solomon Kotei, who gave the advice, also urged them to be responsible for all related matters under their control in the administration and management of their pensions.
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"Apply yourselves to ensure that the right deductions are made by your employers,” he stated.
"Ensure that information on statements issued to you are correct," he noted as they commemorate International Workers Day on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
International/national
Internationally, the theme for the day is: “Uniting workers for social and economic advancement.”
In Ghana, organised labour has chosen the theme: “Sustainable pensions: The role of social partners.”
Internationally, conferences and various activities will mark the day across the globe.
Nationally, a parade of workers will begin early in the morning on May 1 from the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the Black Star Square.
ICU message
While commending the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) for putting up the formula for the calculation of pensions on their website, Mr Kotei said the formula lacked defined parameters to make it easily understandable to workers.
"That has made the formula still a mystery to most workers," he added.
Mr Kotei again commended the SSNIT for the policy of minimum pension payments.
Currently, the minimum pension is about GH¢300.
Mr Kotei said the policy had made Ghana's pensions one of the best in the sub-region.
However, workers in the country are not benefitting because of the economic challenges of the country, resulting in the erosion of all workers' gains in wages.
Ayekoo
Mr Kotei congratulated workers who had faced the brunt of the economic challenges for the better part of the year and sacrificed at work even as the value in their resources dipped.
He also commended employers in the country who had respected and cooperated with labour unions during the trying times.
Productivity/overtime tax
For the future, Mr Kotei said the government had to deal with the taxes on overtime allowances.
He asked workers to be productive as "productivity determined welfare."
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