Adnan Adams Mohammed
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and organised labour last week to exempt pension funds under government’s Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) Programme.
The exemption was announced after a meeting between the Government of Ghana (GoG) represented by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, on one hand and Organised Labour/Associations, on the other hand.
The meeting was premised on threats of nationwide industrial actions by organised labour on demand for exempting their pension funds from the government’s unpopular DDE. Subsequent to this, the National House of Chiefs called on the government to engage the labour unions on the “difficult measures” being put in place to “revive the ailing economy” to enable them to appreciate the rationale behind it.
“Government and Organised Labour shall “however work together to explore mutually beneficial options within the debt sustainablility limits and to also promote macroeconmic stability and economic recovery in the spirit of social partnership,” a statement issued at the end of the government-organised labour meeting posited.
Organised Labour had earlier served notice of a nationwide strike from next week, Tuesday, December 27, 2022, due to government’s refusal to exempt pension funds from the Debt Exchange Programme.
The Secretary-General of Organised Labour, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, made this known at a press briefing on Monday, 19 December 2022.
He said the strike has been occasioned by the government’s decision to introduce a debt exchange programme.
According to him, the strike will be in force until the government exempts pension funds from the planned debt exchange programme. “We are asking the government to exempt us from the debt exchange programme.”
Due to the IMF programme, the government has announced measures to deal with the economic crisis including the debt exchange programme, freezing of public sector employment, and a haircut on all government bonds among others.
Meanwhile, speaking at the National House of Chiefs meeting, last week, in Kumasi, the President of the House Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II noted that these measures have caused an uproar on the labour front and there is a need for the government to engage them.
He also called on the leadership of the labour front to dialogue with the government to enable it to go through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme successfully.
Ogyeahoho Gyebi II, who doubles as the Paramount Chief of the Sefwi Anhwiaso Traditional Area also appealed to Ghanaians to support the government to roll out the IMF programme successfully.
