GCD workers disappointed over redundancy payment

Workers of the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Limited(GCD) at Akwatia who were declared redundant in August 2007 spent Christmas in anguish and disappointment as they could not receive their severance award before the Yelutide.

Eight hundred and ten workers of the mines were affected by the redundancy exercise when the mine closed down as a result of under capitalization and the use of obsolete plant and machinery in 2007.

It is under divestiture and the Diversity Implementation Committee is expected to announce the new owners soon.

Following agitation by the workers, the DIC made available $7.3 million for the settlement of half of the worker's severance benefit with the balance expected to be paid after the company had been divested.

Payment of the severance begun on Thursday but was suspended by Ecobank, the disbursing bank.

The workers complained of the mode of payment which was "table top" since they preferred the lodging of the money into their bank account and the fact that they were not given a statement of accounts that states how much was being paid to them.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Deladi Kabi, GDC Production Manager, explained that Ecobank who are the bankers of DIC paid according to the list given them by the DIC and those workers whose forms were ready were paid on Thursday and Friday.

He said he had to rush to Accra on Friday to collect the rest of the forms from DIC and that Ecobank was ready to pay all the workers whose forms had been completed and that most of the senior staff are yet to be paid.

He therefore appealed to the workers to exercise restraint since every one would be paid when payment resumes on Monday but could not tell how many workers had so far been paid.

Since the closure of the mine, 41 workers are known to have died through deprivation, according to union sources.