Organised Labor has said that it would begin a strike that will last forever on December 27, 2022.
During a news conference on Monday, Dr. Yaw Baah, the secretary general of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), revealed this.
He clarified that the government's decision to implement a debt swap programme is the cause of the walkout.
He claims that until the government exempts pension funds from the intended debt exchange programme, the strike will continue.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Ghana Medical Association, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association of Ghana, and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union were among the labour organisations in attendance at the briefing (TEWU).
The TUC had previously warned the government to exempt the pension funds of its members from the debt swap programme.
They claim that the scheme will have a negative impact on the stability of their retirement income.
"We have examined the debt exchange scheme, and following a careful evaluation of the initiative and a protracted discussion among TUC leadership and affiliates, our decision is firmly established.
And that is that the scheme will adversely effect our members' pension funds, which will ultimately impair the security of their retirement income.
Our government should be doing everything to protect the meagre pension we receive as it is already low. Instead, they are adopting a plan to significantly reduce pension income that was influenced by the IMF. As a result, the Trades Union Congress and all of its affiliates determined that the pension funds of their members would not participate in the domestic debt exchange programme.
Furthermore, according to Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah, the Union has written to the Minister of Finance to demand that all pension funds that have investments in government bonds be taken out of the internal exchange scheme.
"..we are also requesting in that letter that the government publicly state that all pension funds, including SSNIT, would cease to exist within one week from today."
Again, we have given notice in the letter that we will advise ourselves if the government does not comply with our demands within a week, according to Dr. Baah.
Recall that on December 5, 2022, the government unveiled a plan to restructure its debt.
The goal is to "ask holders of domestic debt to voluntarily swap about GH137 billion of the domestic notes and bonds of the Republic, including E.S.L.A. and Daakye bonds, for a package of New Bonds to be issued by the Republic," according to Ken Ofori-Atta.
Pension funds, banks, and insurance companies who own bonds will have to trade them in for ones that will pay no interest in 2019.
Only in 2024 will the new bonds start to pay interest, which will be 10% for the duration of their term. The first bonds only reach maturity in 2027 due to the extension of maturity dates.
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