Debt Exchange: Organized labour calls off strike after exemption of pension funds

Organized labour has called off its intended strike which was slated for December 27, 2022.

This industrial action was to demand the exemption of pension funds of its workers in the ongoing debt exchange program.

Despite assurances of protecting the funds of citizenry, various labour unions were concerned about the impact the debt exchange will have on pension funds.

But government on Thursday, announced that it will no longer include pension funds in the program.

At a press conference, Secretary General for the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah said the decision to call off the strike follows the consensus reached with government.

“We are pleased that after a very extensive engagement with government, it has now exempted all pension funds from the domestic exchange program. We have now signed an MoU. We thank government for listening to us. So, on the 27th of December, no body should stay at home because our demands and conditions have been met. So we are all going to work. No one should stay home.”

Organised Labour including, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), and the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) had all rejected the government’s attempt to include the pension funds in the debt exchange programme.

According to Organised Labour, it was against the law for the government to touch pension funds.

While CLOGSAG and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) served notice that members would embark on industrial action should the government fail to heed its call, the ICU also said it would be compelled to join other labour unions to demonstrate against any such measures by the government.

The domestic debt exchange programme announced by the government requires institutional holders of the eligible bonds to agree in writing to the Central Securities Depository (CSD) to exchange their current holdings for new ones.

As part of measures to revive the ailing economy, the government has also announced a suspension on payments of external debts.