Health Services Workers’ Union counsels government on pension of workers

The leadership of the Health Services Workers’ Union has counselled the government on pension of workers after attending a conference they held.

In a press statement released by the General Secretary of Health Services Workers’ Union (HSWU) Franklin Owusu Ansah, the union advised the government not to embark on what they intend to do about the Pension of Workers in Ghana and for members of Health Services Workers’ Union.

HSWU said, after the Finance Minister presented the 2023 budget statement, a lot of worrying issues emerged and have since agitated the minds of the leadership and members of the HSWU. Paramount to this is the debts restructuring for domestic bondholders in terms of interest payments.

In view of the above, bondholders would receive;

1. Zero interest rate in 2023.

2. 5% interest in 2024.

3. 10% interest in 2025.

Further, he added that the current government is going to forward or extend the tenure of all maturing bonds by 10 years.

Moreso, the leadership found it most pressing to call for the press release largely because it had wind of the resolve and outcome of a meeting held between the Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and some other stakeholders to actually go ahead with this plan which also puts the Pensions of workers at risk.

The statement also has it that all the unfolding events bring shivers to the spine of their members who have struggled all these years with meager salaries.

The actions and intentions of the government bring to question the principles of investment and saving. Workers were made to believe that there would not be any “hair cut” on Pension Funds.

The president of the republic of Ghana reaffirmed and reassured Ghanaian workers that members will enjoy all the following accumulated pensions:

1. Consumption smoothing, by this they optimize standard of living and ensure a proper balance between spending and saving during the different phases of their lives

2. Averting longevity risk where workers may live longer than expected and would need to rely on their monies they save now.

It is so worrying that the government is deciding to discourage and dumping the spirits of the workers as they are already feeling the heat of;

1. High inflation rate which is hovering around 40.4%. This is affecting the disposable income of workers and drastically reducing their purchasing power.

2. High lending rate which is around 33%. This has also extended the loan repayment tenure of workers who thought they had almost finished paying their loans.

3. Low salaries to the extent that some public sector workers are earning below the
minimum wage.

4. Increase in taxes like VAT which is been increased by 2.5%, electively bringing it to about 21%.

5. Reviewing the upper limit of income tax from 30% to 35%.

6. Reducing the E-levy to 1% but obliterating the threshold of GH 100 and many other new taxes.

The Health Services Workers’ Union wishes to remind the government that these policy responses to the economic crises are
bringing untoward hardship to all workers and for that reason our members.

The attempt to touch the pension fund in the quest to restructure debts means that the government is tempering with the present and the future of workers who had the hope of sacrificing today to have a better future tomorrow.

Furthermore, Pensions and Investment is been put at risk by the actions of the government.

The promulgation of the Act 766 was to resolve the problem of inadequate and low Pensions that was received by workers.
The second Tier was designed primarily to give contributors higher lump sum benefits. In the light of this, anything short of this would be calamitous to workers.

They said, they are on this premise assuring the government that the Health Services Worker’s Union shall resist any attempt by the government to cut anything from the Pensions of its members.

Explaining further, they said “If the government finds it so important to do the debt restructuring, we will urge them to ring-fence the Pension Funds of workers.

Workers of Ghana can’t continue suffering to the grave.

They would also take this opportunity to thank members for their sacrifices and always remaining calm in times like these.
The leadership would like to assure members that the pressure would be mounted until our Pension Funds are safe.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh