Parliament’s Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State has been meeting today to devise a solution to the impasse between government and the labour unions over the management of their tier two pension funds.

The workers on Wednesday called off a week-long strike but threatened to resume if government does not return to the negotiation table in one week.

The meeting by Parliament's Committee on Employment has been triggered by the workers’ threat to resume the strike. 

The unions say government is showing bad faith by stalling the negotiations.

Spokesperson for the Forum of Public sector Registered Pension Schemes, Reynold Tenkorang told Joy News that even though they respect the law, they will not rethink their decision to embark on another strike if government does not come up with anything concrete after the one week ultimatum expires.

He complained about the lack of commitment on government’s part to ensure that their issues are duly addressed.

“Government is not committed, we have not received official proposal from government after we requested for that to be done. As I speak nothing has been done”.

Twelve worker unions – Ghana Medical Association, Registered Nurses Association, Ghana National Association of Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Coalition of Local Government Staff Association of Ghana, etc – announced a strike last week in protest over government’s decision to choose a trustee to manage their tier two pension contributions.

According to the workers, the National Pension Act requires them to choose who manages their Tier Two pension contribution of 5.5 per cent.

Even though government says the funds are safe, the workers insist that it acted unilaterally in choosing a private company, the Pension Alliance Trust to manage the fund.

Government last week issued a writ at the High Court seeking a "Declaration that on a true and proper construction of Section 129 and 211 of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), 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."

In her writ, the Attorney-General (A-G), Mrs Marietta Brew Oppong-Appiah sought an alternative declaration that "upon on a true and proper construction of Section 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 employee-sponsored scheme or a master trust scheme in relation to the Second Tier Pension."

But before that case is determined, government sent an ex parte application to court asking for an injunction to be placed on the workers' strike. The application was granted and the workers called off the strike.