Public sector workers have been urged to remain calm in the face of a government directive that requires employees in the Greater Accra Region to register for the e-zwich card.
“There is no need for anyone to fear losing their salaries because we will ensure that government does the appropriate thing by properly negotiating with workers before introducing anything concerning workers moneys,” Mr Richard Amparbeng, the General Secretary of Public Services Workers Union, has said.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday, Mr Amparbeng said no worker should rush and do anything in panic for fear of losing their job.
As part of measures to improve control over the management of the payroll, the Ministry of Finance directed the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) to use the e-zwich biometric system as a means to validate salaries of employees on the mechanised payroll before payment.
In accordance with that policy, all employees on the mechanised payroll were mandated to register for e-zwich through the banks where they currently received their salaries.
A recent notice circulated to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the Greater Accra Region has, therefore, notified employees in the region to register for the e-zwich card for the payment of their salaries.
The notice said a minimum of 10 per cent of workers’ salaries would be loaded onto their e-zwich card while 90 per cent would be lodged in their respective salary accounts.
The directive from the CAGD urged employees in the Greater Accra Region to register and submit the information of their e-zwich registration to the appropriate office.
Mr Amparbeng said as a workers union: “We appreciate and support government efforts to clear ghost names from the pay roll but oppose any imposition concerning salaries which most workers have already committed themselves to”.
He said though the e-zwich would have its good purpose, “the manner in which it is coming is bad”.
Mr Amparbeng said engagements with leadership of public sector workers and government over the introduction of the e-zwich was on-going and that another meeting would come off on May 24 for further discussions.
He said the PSWU, therefore, supports the Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) and other bodies to object the introduction of the e-zwich.
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