The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, (GNAT), Thomas Musah, has called on the government to take another look at the general income of all public sector workers in the country.
He indicated that many workers earn a low basic salary, which eventually affects the quantum of the pension benefits they are given after retirement.
Speaking at the GNAT Investment Forum held at the University of Ghana on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, he said, “It has become very necessary that the issues of income in this country should be looked at. We cannot run away from it, especially with the issue of the basic salary. That is why we are organizing this forum to look at what can be done to ensure that when workers are retiring, they retire better off.”
“There is one thing that we have been asking for over the years. At least, if for nothing at all, when the worker is retiring he or she should be able to afford a two-bedroom house,” he noted.
Speaking at the same event, the Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr. John Ofori-Tenkorang, said the scheme is the best pension scheme workers can get anywhere.
He explained that the management of SSNIT has been carrying out indexation to meet the rising rate of inflation.
“SSNIT undertakes indexation every year, and the indexation matches inflation. SSNIT is aware of the inflationary factors, and so we compensate for inflation,“ he said.
“I will urge people not to throw the baby out with the bad water. The narrative is that SSNIT is not good, people connive with their employers not to pay their SSNIT. The SSNIT scheme is the best that you can ever get anywhere else as far as pensions are concerned. If you don’t join to contribute, you are harming yourself,” he noted.
He further indicated that the management is going to roll out a programme to educate people on the need to join SSNIT.
“We are going to roll out a programme to get people to come and join SSNIT because it is the best thing they can do for themselves,” he said.