CPP Presidential Candidate Sued

Fourteen employees of Gocrest Security Limited, a company owned by George Opesika Aggudey, the CPP Presidential Candidate for the 2004 elections have sued the company and its Managing Director over absolute non-payment of their tax obligations and social security contributions to the Internal Revenue Service and SSNIT respectively.

They have also sued the CPP candidate for non-payment of their salaries since September, this year.

The writ was filed at the Sunyani High Court on Tuesday. The class action is in the name of Adu Boahen who was a security guard at the Standard Chartered Bank’s closed branch in Sunyani on behalf of his 13 other colleagues who say “they are now not working”.

A statement of claim from their solicitor, Francis Obiri said the plaintiffs were employed by Aggudey’s company in July 2000. The letters of appointment “were signed by George Aggudey who signed as Managing Director of the Defendant’s Company”, says the writ.

But their employer never paid their SSNIT contributions and IRS taxes as required by law. The employment of the 14 persons effectively came to a halt when the bank ceased operations. No re-assignments have followed ever since.

The aggrieved workers claim their employer did not give them ‘letters’ when the bank stopped operations, neither has Aggudey’s company “terminated our appointment”. They therefore do not understand why the company has not paid them since September.

They are therefore seeking an order to compel Aggudey to pay their IRS and SSNIT contributions from July 2000 until the final determination of the case. They are also seeking an order to compel the defendant to pay their salaries from September.