It said it would be left with no option than to embark on a massive nationwide industrial action if by November 15, government had not complied with its obligations under the settlement judgment of the High Court in 2015, to immediately transfer all due funds that were currently being held in the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) at the Bank of Ghana.

The Forum is made up of Unions and Associations including The Health Service Workers’ Union, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, the Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Physicians Assistants Association, Ghana Hospital Pharmacists Association and the Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists.

The rest are the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Teachers and Educational Workers Union of Ghana Trades Union Congress, the National Association of Graduate Teachers, the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana. 

Mr Isaac Bampoe, the Chairman of the Forum at a press briefing in Accra said the Scheme was by law, a defined contribution scheme and it was the yield on investment over time that would determine the level of the lump sum payable.

He outlined the pending issues relating to the operation and management of the 2nd Tier Occupational Pension Schemes within the Public Service,  saying the almost seven years delay in the transfer of funds to the various schemes is going to adversely affect the level of lump sum or gratuity a retired officers was likely to receive under the system.

Their current decision, he said was as a result of the Government’s failure to abide by the obligations as stated in the consent judgment of the High Court last year, which had accepted an Out of Court settlement of an earlier demand by the Forum for the transfer of the funds.

He said under the consent judgment by the Court, the employer was to ensure that transfer of the five per cent tier-two monthly deductions are made by the Controller and Accountant General, by  April 1, and paid directly to the pension custodian banks duly appointed by the employer.

He said the National Pension Regulatory Authority on the other hand, was also expected to ensure the completion of the transfer of the funds from the TPFA at the Bank of Ghana to custodian banks of the four schemes by July 2.

Government shall reimburse to the Defendants reasonable expenses incurred in setting up their trusts and schemes as well as any reasonable legal fees incurred in the course of the litigation of the suit.

Mr Bampoe said the deafening silence on the part of Government concerning the transfer of funds since, was clearly in contravention of the court judgment and very worrying. He explained that by the promulgation of the National Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2014 (Act 883), contributors aged 55 as at January 1, 2015 were exempted from the national pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), which meant that those who were 50 years and above as at January 1, 2010 were exempted from the new Act, and remained under the Social Security Law, 1991 (PNDCL 247).

“The Government by the amendment has postponed the implementation of the 2nd Tier Occupational Pension Scheme for five years and we are not going accept any further amendment,”, he said.

He said the fact still remained that for those who fall under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766), cumulative contributions from January 1, 2010 had not been transferred to the custodians of licensed schemes of the Forum He asked members of the Forum to automatically start an industrial action by the stipulated date if they did not hear a counter instructions from the leadership.