By Gifty Adjei
The National Labour Commission is to proceed to Court to enforce its directive against the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission over some illegal deductions of allowances of GBC workers in their May 2023 salaries. The Labour Commission announced the decision during its second sitting on the GBC and Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s case.
Following the GBC and Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s impasse over the deductions of some allowances, the matter was referred to the National Labour Commission for redress by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
At the Labour Commission almost three weeks ago, the commissioners ruled that with immediate effect, all the allowances unilaterally removed from the pay slips of GBC workers must be restored, those whose salaries were further deducted must be refunded, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission providing the enabling platform where the Commission can negotiate with both the divisional and senior staff unions of GBC.
The Commission again asked both GBC and the Fair Wages and Salaries to appear for the second time today, June 21, 2023.
At exactly 11 am as stated by the Commission, Union Executives and Management of GBC arrived at the National Labour Commission.
However, there was no official from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to represent it.
At exactly 2 pm, after three hours of waiting, the commissioners had no choice but to call the case. At the commission, a case was made that the Fair Wages and Salaries had not enforced the directive of the National Labour Commission per the previous sitting and that validation for June’s salaries, although ending tomorrow, has revealed that the Fair Wages and Salaries has not restored deductions made in the month of May and Fair Wages and Salaries had also made the same deduction for the month of June.
Without the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission making an appearance at the National Labour Commission and also not implementing the directives from the Commission, the National Labour Commission ruled that it is sending the case to court for its directives to be enforced. In the meantime, Workers of GBC were asked to refrain from any form of industrial action.
In an interview with GBC News, the General Secretary of the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), Mr. Bernard Adjei, expressed his disappointment over the behaviour of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission. As the fate of workers of GBC hangs in the balance.
