Over 1,200 employees of the erstwhile UT and Capital banks, who were affected by the  liquidation of their institutions, are still calling for their exit packages.
In a release issued in Accra, the former employees said, “As at 2ndJanuary, 2019, our exit pay remains unpaid.”
“On the 16th of November, 2018, we were given some assurance by the Minister of Finance that our Exit Pay will be paid by 25th December, 2018. We were highly expectant, but that promise has remained unfulfilled, and it’s sad and unfortunate that we have started the new year with an issue we were hoping to gain closure to in 2018.
“For most former employees of defunct Capital Bank and UT Bank, the year 2018, like the latter part of 2017, was a bitter one and excruciatingly difficult to handle, having to live through the year with no source of livelihood, medical bills to pay, family to feed, among others. We also witnessed the demise of former colleagues and others struggling to cope with the debilitating effects of stroke without any source of income or medical support.”
The affected staff are calling for the payment of exit pay, waiver of staff loans and a review of laws governing the liquidation, among others.
“Our Exit Pay of just about GH¢40 million, which was negotiated by UNICOF and agreed with the Joint Receivers on the 13th of November, 2017, is just about 10% of the over GH¢400 million recovered from the assets of the defunct banks as per the Joint Receivers’ statement dated 9th of October, 2018.
“During our period of engagement with our former banks, we were given staff loans to meet various personal obligations. As per the basic rules governing credit, our staff loans were taken for a specific tenure. However, these extraneous circumstances contrived to truncate the tenure and also deprive us of our livelihood. In the unfortunate situation that the Joint Receivers deduct all outstanding loans of ex-workers in bulk from our entitlements we may still be left with nothing. We are thus appealing for a waiver of those loans to give us enough room to start some ventures with our Exit Pay.”
They revealed that they had appealed to President Akufo-Addo via a letter dated 20th May, 2018 to review the laws governing liquidation with specific reference to Section 135 of Act 930 which focused on claims payment.
“We believe that in times of liquidation, the hardest hit are the employees since they are affected psychologically, socially, emotionally and financially and should be a priority in terms of payment of claims.
“We will also like to take advantage to call for support for employees of other banks facing uncertainties as a result of ongoing mergers and acquisitions. These moments of uncertainty can be extremely difficult, and we appeal that employee wellbeing and welfare are put at the front burner in these discussions since it’s intricately linked to the welfare of their immediate families, parents, extended family members and other dependents.”
“So far, we have comported ourselves and appeal to the conscience of stakeholders in the face of extreme hardship, and we are getting desperate by the day.”