Pension controversy must not prolong

The strike by 12 labour unions in the country this week over pension funds is very hurtful of the economy. The action has affected schools, hospitals, public offices and what have you.

It is the expectation of well-meaning people that a solution would be found quickly to the impasse. 

The workers, I believe, have a case and so does government. Therefore dialogue and respect for each other is what must prevail to have the matter solved. 

That is why the government’s decision to sue the labour unions  for me was not the best option to take.

The workers, on the other hand, must understand that they cannot disagree perpetually with the government and that there must be a point where a ceasefire is reached. At the moment,  the two cardinal sectors of the economy that is education and health, are tottering, making worse the already dire circumstance the sectors are in.

Every nation the world over needs education to surmount developmental challenges and Ghana is no exception. If there was one sector of the nation’s economy that was very critical to its forward movement but which unfortunately has been bastardized a lot, then it is education. That is why anything that has the potential to endanger the future of schoolchildren must be looked at with circumspection.

The health sector, which is the other vital segment of the economy is almost down on its knees. There is a saying that life is never difficult until you fall sick. We have all been sick at one time or the other and know how vulnerable we become in that state. Even though reports are that doctors still report for work, the reality is that they attend only to emergency cases. 

But what we know is that it is not only emergency cases that sometimes send people to the other world, even everyday diseases such as malaria and a simple cough can sometimes kill.

Doctors, I believe, do not like to see their patients suffer and as such would not take measures that would inconvenience them. But, all the same, they have a duty to secure their future by ensuring that monies they put away for the purpose were maintained and not wasted, hence their decision to join their colleagues in the strike action.

It is in the collective interest of the parties involved and the nation at large, therefore, that everything possible was done to ensure that the issues currently between labour and the government were solved with dispatch. 

From now on, employers, including the government must be truthful and open to labour unions and must see each other as partners.

Both the employer and the employee must always be willing to fulfil their part of negotiations especially when it has to do with matters concerning labour. Sometimes it is somewhat worrying why government would delay on labour matters until there is a strike. According to the leadership of the unions there have been countless meetings and interactions with the national pensions regulatory authority, a body mandated to oversee pensions in Ghana, but they proved futile.

The unions are asking to know what has happened to the tier-two pension fund they have contributed. In their words, the first beneficiaries of the "tier two" pension scheme were expected to get their lump sum payments, but are in the dark because they do not know where to claim the benefits. They are, therefore, requesting that their pension fund be released to them for them to manage – which the government is failing to do. The government, instead, has described the strike action as unlawful and unnecessary. In fact, the Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu,  has justified the government's delay in paying, saying it was seeking to protect the fund against any future risks.

The question is, whose money is it? Is it the employer who is supposed to manage the fund or the employee who contributes to the fund? 

That is the matter for which the two parties are in court. Nonetheless, the matter must not be dragged such that people’s lives are put in abeyance. 

The government must come out and be truthful to the unions and tell them what it has done with their monies. Being government, I believe labour would have a listening ear and make allowance for the monies to be paid back if it has been used.