The government has sued 12 labour groups over their strike that has resulted in the partial or complete shutdown of most public institutions.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, who filed the suit on behalf of the government last Friday, is praying the High Court to declare that the indefinite strike embarked upon by public sector workers is illegal and that the workers should return to work.
However, the labour unions say they have not received any legal suit.
An 18-point statement of claim said, among other issues: “The plaintiff’s claim is for an order that the defendants call off their illegal strike and resume work, as mandated by their respective contracts of employment.”
“The plaintiff’s claim is for an order that the defendants jointly and severally pay to the government, as employer, any financial or economic loss suffered by the government during the pendency of the strike,” it further stated.
Strike
Public sector workers across the country last week declared a strike in protest against the government’s decision to manage their second-tier pension funds, saying the decision was in contravention of the Pension Law.
The National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766)
However, the Attorney-General, in the statement of claim, stated: “On a true and proper construction of sections 129 and 211 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), the government is the employer of all public sector workers and is consequently entitled to appoint a trustee or trustees in relation to the second-tier pension scheme.”
It is further praying the court that “In the alternative, a declaration that upon a true and proper construction of sections 129 and 211 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), neither an employee nor a representative of such employee is by law entitled to sponsor an employer-sponsored scheme or a master trust scheme in relation to the second-tier pension.”
Misconception
The statement of claim said the plaintiff felt the grievance based upon which the aggrieved labour groups resorted to the indefinite strike was grossly misconceived and without any basis, “as the appointment of a trustee to manage the second-tier pension of public sector workers is exclusively the preserve of their employer, that is, the government of Ghana”.
“Plaintiff avers that the appointment of the Pension Alliance Trust to administer and manage the second-tier pension of public sector workers was done after a process of rigorous screening by the Minister of Finance of five shortlisted companies in accordance with criteria established by the NPRA,” it added.
It said as the employer of all public sector workers, the government had not impeded and did not intend to impede in any way whatsoever the full implementation of the second-tier pension scheme for government employees.
“Plaintiff avers that the government, as the employer of all public sector workers, represented by the defendants, has a vested interest in the contributions it pays monthly towards the retirement of its employees and cannot abdicate that responsibility to defendants,” it said.
Further explanation
Throwing more light on the writ, the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, said under the Labour Law, the employer was entitled to a notice of intent to enable him/her to prepare for alternative labour, especially when it involved essential services, adding that the government was not informed officially.
“We only heard of it on air,” he said.
“The Labour Law is clear that when you want to go on strike, you serve notice of strike on the employer,” he stressed.
Dr Ayine explained that the aggrieved worker groups were supposed to have written officially to the government, stating clearly what the basis of the strike was and state steps taken to resolve the issue and then a deadline before the strike action itself, adding, “But these were not done.”
He noted that according to the Labour Act, the health services were classified under essential services and were, therefore, not supposed to go on strike, insisting that they could declare an industrial dispute and not a strike.
Unions unaware of suit
In a related development, the 12 labour unions which have embarked on the indefinite strike to back their demand for the management of the second-tier pension say they are unaware of a law suit against them by the government, report Charles Benoni Okine & Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho.
Instead, the group has admitted receiving two letters from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, with one inviting the unions to a meeting and the second, copied to the National Labour Commission, to sanction the striking workers because the ministry claims the industrial action is illegal.
The second letter, the group said, was withdrawn after it raised concerns over the action taken by the ministry before inviting the unions to a meeting.
Consequently, it said its membership of more than 800,000 workers would intensify the strike until its concerns regarding the management of the second-tier pension scheme under the National Pension Act 2008 (Act 766) were addressed, adding that “if we do not get what we are demanding, we will not back down”.
The General-Secretary of the Health Services Workers Union (HSWU) and Spokesperson for the striking unions, Mr Raynolds Tenkorang, said in an interview with the Daily Graphic at the weekend that the unions should not be blamed if the action by the workers escalated this week.
Questions are being asked as to why the regulator, the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), has remained silent, leaving the issues to be addressed solely by the Employment and Labour Ministry.
Against that background, Mr Tenkorang called on the government to stop what he described as the usurpation of the powers of the NPRA and allow the authority to function as prescribed by law.
He also called on the government to respect the existing law establishing the pension scheme, adding that it “should stop acting as though there is no law”.
Health sector
Health sector workers are set to withdraw their full services this week as the strike enters its second week.
Presently, health professionals attend to only emergency and in-patient cases at the public hospitals.
“It is better to fight today than wait till we go on retirement,” Mr Tenkorang said.
Overtures
At a news conference held last Friday, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, had pointed out that the government needed, as argued by labour, to find an urgent settlement to the current impasse and urged the striking workers to resume work while negotiations on the matter continued.
“We are social partners and we can disagree, but at the end of the day we must agree and move on in the best interest of the country,” he said.
But in what might seem like taking an entrenched position, the minister stated that “the government does not accept the operation of the second-tier pension scheme registered by the workers”.
However, he maintained that the government was willing to work and negotiate with the unions to improve the scheme in the best interest of all parties, particularly to safeguard any unforeseen future risk.
Credit: Graphic