Workers' protests will now move from the boardroom

Ho, Nov 12, GNA- Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwa, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), on Wednesday said labour's protests to government on the handling of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Funds are no longer going to be limited to the "Boardroom".

"If people want to see us protesting vigorously now they would see it," he said.

He was addressing a joint forum of representatives of the District Councils of Labour (DCLs) in the Volta Region and the Regional Council of Labour at Ho on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the way ahead.

Mr Adu-Amankwa said in the past the leadership of the TUC limited to the boardroom its protests over some issues concerning the use of SSNIT Funds including the funding of Soldiers Housing Project in the barracks and the Council of Indigenous Business Associations (CIBA). "If we were not wiser in the past now we will be wiser. Our past would no longer hold us hostage," he said.

He said the government had acted arbitrarily regarding funding the scheme from contributors' two-and-half monthly contributions to SSNIT and resorted to "misinformation and propaganda" to create the impression that workers are in agreement with the arrangement and that the protests were motivated by selfish motives.

The Secretary-General said the immediate pre-occupation of the TUC would be to seek amendments to the law establishing SSNIT with a view to increasing the representation of labour on the Board from six members as against eight by the government.

He said it has become obvious to the TUC that SSNIT was in a position to pay better benefits to its contributors from the explanation given by the TRUST's management that the two-and-half percent deductions from contributions to fund the NHIS would not affect pensions.

Mr Adu-Amankwa said the NHIS Act not-withstanding, organised labour would re-engineer itself on the issue in a manner that the government could not fail to ignore.

He rejected the assertion that the NHIS is going to cover everybody and that it is going to facilitate free medical care for everybody in the country.

The Secretary-General said he is sceptical about the extent to which the District Mutual Scheme is going to be beneficial to those it would cover since the Act neither stipulates the range of health problems it would cover nor the premiums to be paid.

He said in essence the scheme is discriminatory against workers and does not give them the option to choose which aspect of the scheme they would like to join.

''Under the circumstances the TUC is exploring the possibility of operating a Private Mutual Health Insurance Scheme for its members'', he said. 12 Nov 03