President Akufo-Addo yesterday opened the refurbished Trades Union Congress (TUC) building in Accra with the assurance that the government will resolve the issue of ‘Past Credit’ for public sector workers who retired from January 2020.
“Government, through SSNIT, would pay the difference in the lump sum payments, between beneficiaries of PNDC Law 247 and those of Act 766, for those retiring in 2020, with effect from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020,” he said.
He recalled the contents of a letter dated August 24, 2020 sent to him by the Secretary General, on behalf of the TUC, requesting his intervention to “correct the injustice and unfairness in the implementation of the three-tier pension system.”
The President said he referred the TUC concerns to the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who worked out the position of government on the matter.
“Indeed, 2020 marks the transition year where all public sector workers, retiring under the Three-Tier Pension Scheme, are having their pensions paid under the National Pensions Act, 2008, Act 766,” the President said.
Even though Act 766 clearly offers higher monthly pensions and better lifetime benefits to workers compared to the erstwhile PNDC Law 247, some workers may receive a lower lump sum (made up of the past credit paid by SSNIT and the Tier-2) compared to that paid under PNDCL 247), with the President adding that “a committee will be established to supervise the implementation of this decision” to ensure that equity prevails and no pensioner is made worse off.
Recognising and appreciating the efforts and sacrifices that organised labour has made towards the development of the country, the President explained that “that is why when government received the request from the leadership of the TUC to assist it to refurbish the hall, we did not hesitate. I have been told by the Minister for Finance that government’s contribution to this refurbishment was GH¢12.7 million.”
He said the refurbished building is a fitting tribute to the memory and work of past and present TUC leaders such as Joe-Fio Meyer, John Tettegah, B. A. Bentum, A.M Issifu, A.K. Yankey, Christian Appiah Agyei, Kwasi Adu Amankwah and Kofi Asamoah.
“I am glad to state that the relationship between government and organised labour has been one of cordiality, cooperation and mutual respect. I continue to be reassured by the determination of organised labour and its leadership to rally behind government to create a progressive nation, buoyed on by faster economic growth rates, and driven by the quest for decent jobs,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “I have been heartened by this, and I am determined, for as long as I remain President of the Republic, to continue even more firmly on this path of cooperation and collaboration on which we have embarked to the benefit of the working people of our country.”
Dr. Yaw Baah, TUC Secretary General, commended the President for the decision to work out the ‘Past Credit’ issue, saying the current situation would have not left many public sector workers impoverished.
With this assurance, however, he said the dashed hopes of the many have been restored.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu