Organised labour must protect their SSNIT deductions - Labour expert

Following a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in Ghana could run out of funds by 2036, labour expert, Austin Gamey, has charged organised labour to protect the deductions by employers to SSNIT.

He explained that the pension scheme has been plagued with corruption and government interference.

Speaking on TV3's Ghana Tonight programme on Thursday, April 25, 2024, Austin Gamey said, “The whole scheme has been bedevilled by corruption and government interference...The government must not manage the scheme. Organised labour must protect the deductions by employers”.

He stressed that SSNIT should be managed without government interference and fund managers need to be monitored to ensure that they account for the monies entrusted to them.

As at the end of December 2021, the government owed SSNIT GH¢9.35 billion with late payments accounting for GH¢6.9 billion of this debt.

The delay in government payments has also reduced SSNIT's investment returns by 1.3 percent.

The report by ILO suggested that government's failure to pay on time has effectively transferred a significant financial burden to the private sector.

“Past experience suggests that, by not paying on time and not paying the interest income on delayed contributions, the government shifts an important part of the cost to the private sector,” the report said.

ILO projected SSNIT to deplete its funds in meeting its financial commitments to beneficiaries in future.

SA/NOQ