The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has issued a one-week ultimatum to the government, demanding the immediate transfer of all outstanding pension deductions to the appropriate institutions or risk their wrath.
During a press conference in Accra on Thursday, April 18, NAGRAT President Angel Carbonu expressed deep concern over the government’s alleged failure to pay mandatory contributions for over 700,000 Ghanaian workers.
He also accused the government of financial misconduct, highlighting the non-payment of Tier 2 pension scheme contributions and other third-party deductions since July 2023.
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Mr. Carbonu stressed that these contributions were being deducted from workers’ salaries but not reaching the designated institutions.
According to him, this raises serious doubts about the future financial security of these workers, particularly after retirement.
“Workers of this country have continuously provided invaluable service to this nation. But unfortunately, the government we serve has decided to take from the Ghanaian workers and the various unions what even belongs to them. Every month, workers pay dues to their unions, and these dues are deducted from the salary of the workers. Also, workers are supposed to be deducted money from their salaries into their tier-two -pension scheme so as to safeguard their future.
“Unfortunately, though these monies are taken and deducted by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department on behalf of the Ghanaian worker, the monies have not been transferred into the various institutions which are the destinations for these monies. And to give a clear example of the situation, the last time the government paid any money into the tier-two pension scheme was in June 2023,” Mr Carbonu said.
He added, “The way the thing is going, it is beginning to generate a large amount of disquiet at the labour front. The labour organizations like NAGRAT can no longer stay quiet to allow this financial malfeasance to continue. We want to state that by the close of next week Friday, all monies deducted from our members must be transferred immediately into the accounts of the institutions they are designated to be transferred to; otherwise, we don’t have any option but to embark on a series of activities to ensure that the right thing is done.”