CAGD suspends directive for public sector workers to obtain Ghana Card or forfeit salaries
Earlier, Organized Labor had noted that the initial CAGD directive was going to be problematic and unfair because of the short window that had been allowed before the policy will be adopted.
The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has temporarily suspended the directive for all public sector workers to obtain their Ghana Card or forfeit their salaries from December 1, 2021.
Public sector workers will now have their names ported from the existing database of the CAGD to the platform of the National Identification Authority, after which the CAGD will inform the various institutions of such other unregistered staff that may pertain.
This follows a meeting held between the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, the Ministry of Finance, the CAGD and the leadership of organized labor on behalf of public sectors paid by the CAGD.
Earlier, Organized Labor had noted that the initial CAGD directive was going to be problematic and unfair because of the short window that had been allowed before the policy will be adopted.
The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union as well as the Ghana National Association of Teachers had however lauded the directive, having observed that it will provide an effective means of dealing with ghost names on government payrolls. Nonetheless, they called for an extension of the deadline to ensure that all members who did not have their cards will obtain them.
GNAT whose members comprise the majority of payees on the CAGD payroll had stated then that “the NIA should guarantee that it can get the cards for all workers by that particular date, while the employer (government) should also guarantee that it will facilitate the process.”
