All Labour Unions in Ghana are being urged to unite in pushing for an extension of the effective period of the Tier Two to allow the Custodians and Fund Managers to improve their investment return so as to pay the lump sum to contributors.
The Unions are also being called upon to negotiate with regulatory authorities to allow the 3-Tier Scheme to be included in the collective agreements of public sector workers.
A Labour Expert, Abu Kuntulo said this during the week celebration of the Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) at Wa in the Upper West Region.
The celebration focused on “Organising for better pensions from 2020 and Beyond; a time to make a difference”.
The Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) of the Trades Union Congress was born in September 1965 out of a merged union in the colonial era which consisted of all health workers.
Each year, the HSWU marks the anniversary as a means of celebrating the gains made while strategizing for the years ahead.
This year, the celebration in in the region was climaxed with a cleanup exercise at the Upper West Regional Hospital.
A lecture was also organized to educate the workers on the social security pension.
Labour Expert and Retired General Secretary of the HSWU, Abu Kuntulo called for data on workers’ contribution and benefits to be made readily available to workers.
Mr. Kuntulo added that for the scheme to be completely beneficial to the workers, “it is important that workers actively participate in the management of their established schemes”.
The Labour Expert admitted that although the Two-Tier Scheme is a better option, its management is a problem.
“The Second Tier is a Scheme designed primarily to give contributors and enhanced lump sum to replace what was previously being paid. You can see that if this Scheme is properly managed, this particular contribution can be a beneficial pension to workers, but management is our problem,” he explained.
The Acting Head of Administration for the Upper West Regional Hospital, Sampson Abu expressed gratitude to the HSWU for choosing to spend time to clean the facility. Mr. Abu explained that the lecture was critical because it would educate the workers on their privileges and responsibilities towards the scheme saying “they need to know their rights as members of the Union, they also need to know their responsibilities as members of the scheme.”
Mr. Abu added that it is critical that workers are treated properly under pension schemes to ensure that they live dignified lives after active work.
Story filed by Mark Smith
