Pension funds exempted from Debt Exchange Programme

Organised Labour has just prevailed in its attempts to prevent the government from exempting pension funds from the debt restructuring announced by the Finance Minister.

The decision to exempt pension funds from the debt exchange was taken on Thursday after a crunch meeting with Organised Labour.

Addressing the media after signing a memorandum of understanding between the government and organised labour, Minister for Employment and labour relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah said government and the organised labour will work together to resolve all issues to make the programme successful towards the restoration of macroeconomic stability of the country.

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.