The General Secretary of the Industrial Commercial Workers Union (ICU) Ghana, Mr Solomon Kotei, has called the Government to pay exit packages and entitlements to ex-employees of collapsed micro-finance and Savings and Loans Companies whose licences were revoked by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in 2019.
He said most affected ex-employees numbering about 3,000 are family men and women and have no means of livelihood, during this Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic which has affected jobs in the country.
The General Secretary made the call at a press conference in Accra yesterday to address the delays in the payments of money to affected members of financial institutions since the BOG revoked their employers’ licences in 2019.
He said the situation “has inflicted pain and suffering on the families and they need immediate relief to assist them.”
“It is regrettable that the Receiver, Mr Eric Nana Nipah, appointed by government in October, 2019 to oversee payment of exit packages and other pecuniary benefits to the workers who were affected by the Bank of Ghana (BOG’s) revocation of banking licenses eleven months ago has up till today, not lived up to expectation,” he added
He said the ICU-Ghana having entered into negotiations with the Labour Consultant for and on behalf of the ex-employees of the micro-finance and saving and loans companies settled on the exit packages and other benefits payable to the ex-employees and Memorandum of Agreement duly drawn up and signed by parties in December 2019.
Mr Kotei said the ICU Ghana had made appeals to the Ministers of Finance and Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta and Ignatius Baffour-Awuah respectively for the intervention to facilitate payment but to no avail.
“If those involved in the payment of the entitlement due the ex-employees of the micro-finance and savings and loans companies refuse to heed to the passionate please and lamentations of these ex-employees and immediately do the needful, then we shall advise ourselves,” he added.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI