No 2.5% deduction from SSNIT Fund - Organized Labour

Accra, Sept 18, GNA - Organized labour on Thursday reiterated its objection to government's unilateral attempt to use 2.5 per cent of workers Social Security And National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contribution as seed money to fund the National Insurance Health Scheme (NHIS).

The Trades Union Congress (TUC); Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Civil Servants Association (CSA); Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) and the Judicial Service Staff Association (JUSAG) said they were organising meetings in all the Regional Capitals to decide their next action on the issue.

A statement the Trades Union Congress (TUC) issued in Accra on what would form the discussions at the forums said government was being opportunistic because the fund provided a ready and convenient source of funding.

It said for democracy to thrive it was important that all organs of state should take decisions through consultation "and engage actively with the very population on whose behalf they purport to act in arriving at their decisions.

"Regrettably in the practice of governance in our country, the Government neither consults with nor engages Organized Labour or broader civil society on a range of core economic and social issues, particularly those that are likely to have a major impact on the lives of the population."

It said this opportunistic policy that the government had adopted had prevented it from rising up to the challenge of exploring other sources of funding of the scheme.

It said; "it is a well known fact that the current benefits that the majority of worker obtain from SSNIT are meagre and Organized Labour wish to grow SSNIT benefit than just maintaining the existing benefit". The statement said healthcare provision for the society is too important for the law on it to be passed unsatisfactorily.

It said Organized Labour was of the view that government must consult more and engage better various social groups and stakeholders to ensure that the law meets the collective aspirations of all Ghanaians. 18 Sept. 2003