The 12 public sector unions have “temporarily suspended” their indefinite nationwide strike action which was to begin tomorrow to protest the mishandling of their tier two pension funds by the government.
The suspension of the strike is to allow a nine member joint technical committee comprising government and the unions to resolve the issue.
It comes after a series of meetings facilitated by the Labour Ministry, to avert the general strike which would have grinded economic activities and social services in the country, to a halt.
A statement issued by the Unions after a crunch meeting this afternoon, said “the Forum calls on all members to remain calm and allow the joint committee to complete its work.
The statement signed by Chairman of the Forum, Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, said the joint committee, which has three weeks to present its report, has representatives from government and the organised labour.
The unions under a collation christened, “The Forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Scheme,” resolved to suspend the strike action at a meeting held yesterday in Accra to review their earlier decision, following some interventions by the government to avert the strike.
The Forum is made up of Health Services Workers’ Union, Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Physician Assistants Association, Ghana Hospital Pharmacists Association and Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists.
Others are the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Teachers and Education Workers’ Union, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers –Ghana, Civil and Local Government Staff Association and Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana.
At a press conference on September 14, the unions demanded the transfer of their funds logged in the Temporary Pensions Fund Account (TPFA) at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) since 2010 into the accounts of the four fund managers responsible for the public sector occupational pension scheme.
Additionally, the forum asked for the audited report on the TPFA and declared their intention to embark on an indefinite strike on Friday September 29 if government fails to do so.
According to the forum, the intended industrial action was due to its disappointment at the manner in which government and its agencies had reneged on its adherence to the out of court settlement in February 2016.
By Nii Adotey/adrdaily.com
