'No Ghana Card, no salary' initiative is unfair – GFL to government

The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has urged the government to collaborate with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register public workers who do not have Ghana cards.

The Secretary General of the GFL, Abraham Koomson, who made the suggestion indicated that there are many public workers who have not been able to register for the Ghana Card because of technical challenges.

Koomson’s concerns come at a time the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has announced that public workers who do not have Ghana Card will not receive their monthly salaries beginning from February this year.

Speaking to Oheneba Boamah Bennie on TV XYZ Wednesday evening, Mr Koomson argued that many public workers had not been able to acquire their Ghana Cards due to technical challenges, condemning the government’s decision to freeze the salaries of public workers who do not have Ghana Cards.

Koomson said although the move by the government was to sanitize the public payroll, the approach was wrong.

“We know some unscrupulous people have been using the names of persons who have died to draw salaries on the government’s payroll but this approach will not help, ” he said while advising the government to review its approach.

According to Koomson, “the government should ensure that all public workers have the Ghana card through a new registration exercise for all government workers.”

“The government must collaborate with NIA to register workers in their offices so productivity does not come down,” Mr Koomson stated.

” CLOGSAG should demonstrate against the approach if the government does not help its members to get the card,” Koomson urged.

Last year, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) said from the beginning of February 2024, all public sector workers without Ghana Card numbers will have their salaries frozen.

The directive issued by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) was part of its measures to help cut out ghost names on the government’s payroll.