Aggrieved members of the Association of Retrenched Staff of the Ghana COCOBOD on Wednesday, March 15, picketed at the entrance of Parliament to petition the Speaker over what they say is the underpayment of their benefits by COCOBOD.
The group said over 14, 000 workers were laid off in the years 1993 and 1994 without due diligence by COCOBOD
However, following legal action against the dismissal, the Supreme Court ruled on behalf of the affected workers, directing COCOBOD to pay the required benefits to the former workers.
Speaking to the media, the spokesperson of the group, William Boafo said the funds paid by COCOBOD do not correspond to their entitlements hence the need for the Speaker of Parliament and the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate the matter.
“We were at various departments, and various divisions working in various areas throughout the country and we were laid off in 1993 and some in 1994. It became a court issue and in 2019 the court gave a ruling that Cocobod should pay us our benefits but in 2020 COCOBOD started issuing cheques to us, and it was nothing to write home about.”
Mr. Boafo bemoaned that some of the former workers received as low as GH¢400 which was inadequate.
He added that several pleas and meetings with officials of COCOBOD to rectify the anomaly have yielded nothing.