25 firms in court for "chopping" workers money

Takoradi (Western Region) - Twenty five establishments in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis have been dragged to court for defaulting in the payment of Social Security and National Insurance Trust contributions from workers.

The firms are among 100 establishments in the metropolis which have defaulted in payments to the tune of ?800m.

E.S. Tsama, the district SSNIT manager, disclosed these to The Ghanaian Times in an interview at his office at the weekend. According to him, there were 600 establishments in the metropolis comprising mainly timber and industrial companies.

Tsama advised employees to ensure that they were registered by SSNIT, explaining that if any employer refused to register them, they should report to the SSNIT offices and their identity would be protected.

He pointed out that every worker in any establishment should ensure that he or she was registered under the social security scheme. Furthermore, the manager called on the employees to cooperate with SSNIT and to feel free to contact SSNIT offices for any information.

“Employees should take interest in contacting the SSNIT district offices for their comprehensive statement of account,” he advised. He pointed out that should there be any problem with their contributions, they should not hesitate to co-operate with SSNIT to rectify it.

The manager urged them to take advantage of the situation and visit the offices regularly to update their personal data and also asked employees to cooperate with them in amending records of their employees to ensure that workers were registered.

Tsama asked employers to inform SSNIT when they employ new workers, especially those from the tertiary institutions, so they could track them down for the repayment of their loans.

When asked why students’ loans were often delayed, Tsama explained that most of the students used forged account numbers and wrong students’ identification or social security numbers, resulting in the delay of their loans. In addition, some students usually present unqualified guarantors and that delay their applications.