All public sector workers will embark on an indefinite strike on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, organized labour has threatened.

The group has asked government to give them an assurance that their pension funds will not be affected by its debt exchange program.

Government is embarking on a debt exchange programme to help manage its debt as part of efforts to help stabilize the economy.

In the program, institutional bondholders are expected to exchange their bonds for new ones. But organized labour fears pension funds of its customers could be affected.

Addressing the media, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Dr. Yaw Baah said they will only call off their strike when government heeds to their demand.

“We are asking government to exempt us from the debt exchange programme. We have already told the world that if government doesn’t do that, we will advise ourselves. Today, we are here to announce the advice. The advice is very simple. We have all agreed that because the government has refused to grant our request, we have decided firmly that all workers of Ghana are going to strike on December 27, 2022, and we will be on strike until our demands are met.”

Several labour unions including the Trades Union Congress have kicked against the imposition of cuts on pension funds as part of the debt exchange programme aimed at supporting the country’s economic recovery.

They include the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Chamber of Commerce and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The unions have therefore vowed to resist any attempt by the government to reduce the value of pension funds of their members which are in institutional bonds.