Leading Ghana’s departmental store Melcom has denied reports that it has reneged in its promise to pay medical bills of its workers who got injured during last year’s building collapsed disaster that killed 14 people. Some employees of the company have been narrating their ordeal to the media, blaming the company for abandoning them and refusing to pay them compensation for the injuries sustained during the disaster. But in a statement signed Joint Group Managing director of Melcom Hamesh Melwani said they are awaiting communication from the labour commission to effect payment of compensation. Below is the full text of the statement. After the tragedy took place on 7 November each and every member of staff was attended to at the various hospitals. All medical bills that were brought from the recognized hospitals were and are still being paid in full. After regular follow ups with the hospitals and the patients in November and December and a final Doctor – Patient meeting arranged on 23rd and 24th January, 2013 at 37 Military Hospital and Achimota Hospital to ascertain their fitness. The Hospitals administrations on 25 January, 2013 submitted to us the official Labour forms filled out by the assigned doctor(s) indicating the various degree of injury and their current states together with their date they are fit to return back to work. These forms were given to the Labour office on 7th February, 2013. It must be noted that each and every effected person was notified by telephone to attend the final doctors meeting. According to law these forms are suppose to be handed to over to the Labour office for them to calculate the compensation amounts according to the doctors reports. Till date, we have not heard from the labour office and we are in constant follow up with them. At the time of obtaining the forms from the hospitals, it was realized that 12 patient record files were missing. On follow up with the hospitals we were informed by hospital authorities that the patients had taken their medical record files home with them when they were discharged, therefore these 12 medical forms could not be completed. Melcom Management called these 12 staffs and informed them to return back to us the files and come for a final check up for onward submission to the hospital for the doctors to complete the forms. Till date only 2 files have been returned. The remaining 10 staffs were explained in writing that delay in submitting the files would in turn delay their compensations. Many of the staffs have been told by the doctors that they are fit to report back to work as on February 1-10 but they have failed to do so, without informing management. It should also be noted that on February 13, 2013 the local Union representatives along with ICU met all the Achimota staffs to apprise them of the above and they have not raised any query or seek any further clarification on the above. As of today February 28, the Head of Labour Dept has informed us verbally that the entire process of compensation workings would be submitted to us by the close of day of March 1. Signed. Mahesh A. Melwani Joint Group Managing Director, Melcom Group of Companies,