The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has voiced concerns regarding the government's alleged failure to fulfill its part of the mandatory social security contributions for more than 700,000 Ghanaian workers.

During a press conference on Thursday, NAGRAT President Angel Carbonu accused the government of financial misconduct, pointing out the failure to pay for Tier 2 pension scheme contributions and other third-party deductions since July 2023.

Mr. Carbonu said that despite deductions from workers' salaries, these contributions have not been forwarded to the designated institutions. This failure, according to NAGRAT, raises significant apprehensions about the future financial security of these workers, especially upon retirement.

Issuing a one-week ultimatum to the government, NAGRAT demanded the immediate transfer of all outstanding deductions to the appropriate institutions. Mr. Carbonu warned that failure to comply with this ultimatum could lead to further action to address what they perceive as financial misconduct by the government.

He emphasised the vital contributions of workers to the nation and lamented the government's decision to withhold funds that rightfully belong to Ghanaian workers and their respective unions. Mr. Carbonu stressed the importance of timely transfers of deducted funds into the tier-two pension scheme and other designated institutions to secure workers' future.

Concerned about the growing dissatisfaction among labor organizations, Mr. Carbonu asserted that NAGRAT could no longer remain silent on the matter. He stated that if the outstanding deductions are not transferred by the end of the following week, NAGRAT would take necessary steps to ensure corrective action is taken.

“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.”

“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 than to embark on a series of activities to ensure that the right thing is done. ”