Organised Labour has declared a strike effective Monday, July 15, to protest the sale of a 60 percent stake in four hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to Rock City Hotel which is owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.
This comes after the National Pensions Regulatory Commission (NPRA) gave the green light for the sale of SSNIT shares in some six hotels.
The NPRA on June 28 directed SSNIT to suspend its negotiations with Rock City over the sale of four hotels, pending further evaluation and engagement.
However, answering questions on the floor of Parliament, Pensions Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah disclosed to Parliament on Thursday, July 11, that all due processes have been complied with.
“Yes, it is true that NPRA came up with a directive, but I would appreciate it if my brother, my colleague, really read the directive from NPRA. It said it needed to be furnished with all information relating to the sale of the hotels, which SSNIT has since done that.
The decision by the NPRA has been met with stiff opposition from organized labour and has consequently taken the action to express its displeasure over the move.
In a letter signed by the Trades Union Congress(TUC) Secretary General, Dr. Yaw Baah, Chairman of Forum for Public Sector workers, Isaac Bampoe Addo, and Kenneth Koomson, Deputy Secretary General, Ghana Federation of Labour, organzed labour said it finds it extremely difficult to understand how and why NPRA would turn around to approve such a flawed deal two weeks after the directive.
It reiterated its well known position that the proposed sale of SSNIT’s shares in the four hotels is not in the best Interest of Ghanaian workers.
Organized Labour has therefore asked SSNIT to cancel the process forthwith.
“We, therefore, demand that SSNIT terminates the process immediately. From Monday, 1S” July, 2024 all workers in Ghana must not go to work until SSNIT publicly announces the termination of the process for the sale of its shares In the hotels.” the statement said.
Source: Kasapafmonline.com
