GBC employees have given the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) one week to reverse its decision to remove “unearned allowances” from their paychecks, or else they will strike. If the allowances are not reinstated within the next week, the workers say they will begin an indefinite strike.
The Divisional Union Chairman of GBC, Sam Nat Kevor, told the press on Friday, June 2, that workers will begin wearing red armbands and clothes to work beginning the next week in protest if their demands are not granted.
Some Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) workers threatened to go on strike on Friday, May 23, after having their allowances cut.
The FWSC claims that it has taken benefits from the paychecks of certain workers who did not qualify for them. Some of the allowances that will be affected include those for housing, utilities, transportation, and car maintenance.
Employees were upset about this decision because they believe it would increase their cost of living in the face of rising inflation. Several GBC employees were seen wearing red t-shirts and holding signs that said, “Inflation and utility have consumed our 30%.”
Tahiru Abdul Razak Mohammed, chairman of the GBC senior management staff, argued that the FWSC should have spoken with GBC management before making its decision.
In a discussion at GBC News, he said that some employees feel betrayed by the removal of these benefits. Other workers have voiced concern that motivation and productivity might suffer in the absence of such incentives. In response to the removal of benefits, GBC employees will participate in a strike.
Ben Arthur, the head of FWSC, has been adamant that this is part of a countrywide payroll monitoring effort with the Internal Audit Agency. He said that during the payroll monitoring process, it was revealed that some GBC employees were receiving benefits to which they were not entitled.
According to Mr. Arthur, the commission will not back down from its commitment to improve working conditions for all employees. He also said that a GBC cleaner gets a domestic staff wage, which is wrong and should be corrected.
In the meantime, GBC’s Director-General, Prof. Amin Alhassan, has stated that the corporation is making every effort to have the FWSC and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department reverse their present decisions.
