We’ll withdraw court action if labour calls off strike — Govt
The government has indicated the willingness to withdraw its suit against the Forum of Public Sector Registered Pension Scheme Workers to pave the way for the amicable resolution of the dispute between it and 12 labour unions over the management of pension funds.
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The government has also made new proposals in relation to the management of pension funds under the tier-two pension scheme, while the labour unions have also made new proposals.
Both parties would not disclose details of the new proposals.
Addressing a press conference in Accra Thursday after a meeting between the government and the forum, a Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the willingness of the government to withdraw the suit would, however, depend on the readiness of the workers to call off their strike.
"The new proposals by the government go to the very heart of the issue about the management of the pension funds. They relate to what needs to be done to ensure transparency in the management of the funds," he said.
The forum and the government have also decided to exchange the detailed proposals in writing by 10 a.m. today.
They have agreed to study the proposals and reconvene on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.
The arguments
Under the arrangements of the National Pension Act 2008 (Act 766), employers in both the private and public sectors are supposed to make five per cent deductions from employees’ salaries monthly and pay same into a second-tier mandatory occupational pension scheme.
The five per cent deductions are to be held by pension fund custodians and managed by fund managers selected by the relevant corporate trustees.
While labour insists on appointing its own trustees, the government has appointed Pension Fund Alliance as trustees over the second-tier mandatory occupational pension scheme.
However, labour unions have rejected the move by the government.
The Forum
The Forum is a coalition of 12 labour unions campaigning for the full disclosure of their pension funds by the government under the National Pensions Law 2008 (Act 766).
They include the Health Services Workers Union (HSWU), the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA), the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the Ghana Physician Assistants, Association (GPAA), the Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOPSA) and the Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anaesthetists (GRCRA).
Others are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).
The rest are the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG) and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG).
Background
On June 30, 2014, the forum gave the government up to July 14, 2014 to transfer its second-tier pension funds to their preferred fund managers.
When several deliberations did not yield any results, the unions called a press conference on Tuesday, October 23, 2014, during which they announced a strike.
The Attorney-General, on October 24, 2014, sued the workers on behalf of the government, asking the Accra High Court to declare the indefinite strike illegal.
A statement of claim accompanying the suit prayed the court for an order to compel the unions to call off the strike and resume work.
Last Wednesday, representatives of the Forum agreed to return to the negotiation table, in spite of a suit filed against them by the government.
The decision, according to the forum, followed advice by its lawyers to continue with negotiations as it prepared its responses to the suit.
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