Byy: Emmanuel Akayeti
The leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), in partnership with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), on Tuesday, 16 August 2022, held its ninth regional meeting in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, UER.
The regional meetings are aimed at sensitizing regional and district leaders of the TUC about the Scheme and the benefits it offers members to enable them to plan effectively for retirement.
The engagements have already been held in 8 Regions which form part of the Trust’s efforts to improve public knowledge about its operations.
Addressing participants, the Director-General of SSNIT, Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, said such engagements help to address concerns of Members, clarify misconceptions about the operations of the Trust, improve transparency and accountability and enhance stakeholder buy-in.
He indicated that, currently, 25% of workers on the SSNIT Scheme pay monthly contributions of GH¢ 55 or less, stressing that, if these workers were to retire on the basic salaries of GH¢ 500 or less, they would earn a monthly pension of GH¢ 300.00 as first pension.
In an interview In an interview with in Bolgatanga on the sidelines of the meeting, the Director-General indicated, that the essence of the engagement with the leadership of the TUC was to educate its Members to understand that the SSNIT scheme is a social insurance scheme.
He said, ‘‘the SSNIT scheme is a social insurance scheme that insures the basic salaries of workers and replaces part of the lost income of workers during old age or in the event of permanent disability’’.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr. Joshua Ansah, commended the Management of the Trust for operating an open-door policy.
He said SSNIT was previously perceived to be shrouded in secrecy but through continuous engagements with stakeholders, workers are gradually becoming more informed about the Scheme.
The Regional Industrial Relations Officer for the Teachers Workers’ Union (TEWU), Mr. Abeaba Matthew Abereniy, commended the Trust for the continuous engagements with stakeholders.
He said there was the need for workers to understand that “what you put in determines, what you get.” Therefore, if you contribute on low basic salaries, then don’t expect to receive a high pension when you retire.
