The Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress has in a press briefing on Monday, December 19, 2022, asked workers to stay at home from December 27, 2022, until the government exempts all pension funds from the Domestic Exchange.
On December 5, 2022, the Domestic Debt Exchange programme was launched and “seeks voluntarily invite the exchange of approximately 137 billion Ghana cedis of domestic notes and bonds of the Republic, including E.S.L.A and Daakye bonds for a package of new bonds to be issued by the Republic.”
The government however promised the continuous review and recalibration of the measure adopted to ensure the maximum effectiveness and to safeguard the stability of the financial system and the protection of deposits, pensions, policyholders’ funds and investor funds/assets.
University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG) would be part of those going on strike if the strike does come on.
Professor Lord Mensah, Economist and lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, in an interview on TV3 Newday, “it is about time government tends to appreciate that we the workers are citizens of the country, as equity holders of what the government is managing and ones who the government has borrowed from, there will be nothing wrong if government comes to the table with the creditors (direct or indirect) to be given conditions.”
He added that they expect the Debt Exchange programme to come with its benefits and cost, with the benefits being the freeing of fiscal space and stress on expenditure, however if not implemented well and labour force agitate slowing down production, the economy can collapse.