General News of Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Source: GNA

Security personnel not paid salaries for two years, management blames STC

Staff of Super Senses Security International stationed at the Sunyani office of the State Transport Company (STC), have expressed worry about non-payment of their salaries for almost two years.

“This situation has created worrisome financial inconveniences and burden on us as parents and guardians”, Mr. Issa Mohammed, Sunyani supervisor of the company, told the GNA in an interview on Tuesday.

He said their monthly salaries “ceased coming since November 2010”.

Mr. Mohammed said they had managed to survive for the past two years through tips, some of them received from porter services they rendered to passengers, whilst others who could not bear the inconvenience had called it quits.

Asked why he was still at post and had also not sought for another job, the supervisor replied he was still searching for one but expressed the optimism that “one day they will pay our arrears as well as re-new our contract”.

He called on the government and human rights organizations to come to assist in the payment of their salaries “because we are suffering and are in dire need of money to support our families”.

The company’s coordinator for the northern command, Mr Seth Boateng, said the situation was as a result of STC’s failure to pay for their services but added “we are doing everything possible to solve the problem. The situation is nation-wide.”

He said initially the company was borrowing from its bankers to pay workers with the view that the company would pay back the loan when STC paid but this had not happened “rendering us incapable of further borrowing from our bankers”.

He said at a recent meeting of directors and legal officials of both companies in Accra, officials of the STC gave assurance they were expecting some money from the Ministry of Finance and would pay the arrears immediately they got it.**