PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE FORUM IN DEMAND FOR THE OPERATIONALIZATION 

OF THE FOUR REGISTERED PENSION SCHEMES IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 

Members of the Press,

Colleagues, 

Ladies and Gentlemen

We, the Forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Schemes (herein, after called 

the forum) namely:

 

* Health Sector Occupational Pension Scheme set up by the Health Services 

Workers’ Union (HSWU), Ghana Registered Nurses’ Association (GRNA), Ghana 

Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Physician Assistants’ Association, (GPAA), 

and Government and Hospitals Pharmacists’ Association (GHOSPA); Ghana 

Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists (GRCRA).

 

* Ghana Education Service (GES) Occupational Pension Scheme set up by Ghana 

National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teachers and Educational Workers’

Union (TEWU), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and 

Coalition of Concerned Teachers(CCT);

 

* Judicial Service Occupational Pension Scheme set up by Judicial Services Staff 

Association of Ghana (JUSAG);

 

* Hedge Master Trust Occupational Pensions Scheme set up by Civil and Local 

Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG);

addressed you at our initial press conference on 30th June, 2014 on two key issues:

 

* our rejection of the imposition of Pension Alliance Trust

 

* our call on Government to allow the full operationalization of the Public 

Sector Pension Scheme

 

In retrospect, let us recall the actions of our Unions and Associations in relation to 

the implementation of the second (2nd) Tier Occupational Pension Scheme within 

the Public Services.

In 2012 at a meeting at the Castle Gardens, Osu, with His Excellency, John Dramani 

Mahama, Organised Labour informed him that the then Minister of Finance had

issued a letter imposing a Trust - The Pension Alliance Trust - on workers in the 

Public Services. Organised Labour was not enthused about that action by the 

Finance Minister, in that, the decision was unilateral and contrary to the National 

Pensions Act 2008, (Act 766).

Organised Labour focused its attention on Pension during the National May Day

Parade held at Sekondi in 2013. Thus, the theme for the parade was “Pension it is

our right and our responsibility”. This clearly indicated that the unions were going to 

actively participate in and take responsibility for the management of pension 

schemes on behalf of their members, since the 2nd and 3rd Tiers of the New Pension 

thrive on competition to ultimately, give better Lump Sum or pension earnings to 

beneficiaries.

This year, 2014, during the May Day celebrations in Accra, His Excellency the 

President was humbly intimated by Organised Labour on the rights of unions to 

actively participate in the management of the 2nd Tier Pension Scheme and that 

issues affecting it should be resolved amicably and expeditiously in order not to 

create an avoidable tension.

In our quest to seek an amicable settlement, we appealed to the Parliamentary 

Select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises.

This was closely followed by a letter to the Ministry of Employment and Labour 

Relations for an intervention to avoid an escalation of the tension that was building 

up.

We wish the press to also note that during the period there have been countless 

meetings and interactions with the body mandated to oversee Pensions in Ghana, 

that is, the National Pensions Regulatory Authority.

Besides, there have been numerous official and unofficial meetings with the 

Ministers of Employment and Labour Relations in a bid to get our schemes to run 

but to no avail.

We, members of this Forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Schemes did not 

rest on our oars but continued, and sought audience with His Excellency the 

President of the Republic of Ghana in July, 2014 to find a lasting solution to this 

precarious situation which has all the potential, not only to disturb the peace of the 

country, but also stall the effort being made by the Unions to protect the economic 

interest of their members.

His Excellency President John Mahama after listening to his advisers, including the 

National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), the Minister of Finance, the then

Minister of Employment and Labour Relations on one side and the Unions and 

Associations with Registered Schemes in the Public Services on the other, set up a 

Committee comprising Representatives of the Forum, the NPRA and the Minister of 

Employment and Labour Relations and tasked it to submit to him recommendations 

on the way forward within three (3) days. Since then the Committee’s 

recommendations have been submitted to the Presidency.

In order to calm the nerves of our members, we, the Forum issued a Press 

Statement on 10th September, 2014 on the challenges faced by the schemes and 

entreated our members to give us more time to engage Government further on the 

issue.

It is important to note that the first group of beneficiaries under the National 

Pension Act 2008, (Act 766) would be retiring in January 2015. They are in the dark 

as to where to claim the 2nd Tier Benefits.

The Forum, having gone through such a process and waited for this long period, 

have decided to use the only other means available to us to seek a redress of our 

grievances.

We have therefore, collectively decided to embark on an indefinite strike action with 

effect from Wednesday 22nd October, 2014 to press home our demand of getting 

the Government to release the funds accruing to our schemes and subsequent 

releases, to make the public sector schemes operational without delay.

All our members should stay away from work until further directives are issued by 

the FORUM.

 

 

Long Live Workers’ Solidarity, ALUTA CONTINUA 

ISSUED THIS DAY, TUESDAY, 21ST OCTOBER, 2014.