Redundant workers of defunct fund management firms agitate for severance package
Former workers of defunct Fund Management Companies whose licenses were revoked by government in 2019 are demanding from government their salary arrears, severance packages, Social Security and National Insurance Trust and Tier 2 contributions, among other entitlements.
The demand for severance package among other entitlements is premised on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed six month ago between workers and government
In a press release dated Tuesday, December 14, 2021, the Coalition of Ex-Staff of collapsed FMCs demanded from the government when their entitlements will be settled and also questioned why their colleagues from Black Shield Fund Management Company have not been invited for negotiation and signing of the MoU.
“When would they pay us our salary arrears, severance packages, the SSNIT and Tier 2 contributions and other entitlements?
“Why have they not invited our colleagues from Black Shield Fund Management Company into the negotiations and signing of the MoU?,” quizzed the group.
The ex-workers of FMCs also asked whether the government and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have plans to employ them into the newly established GCB Capital Limited formed out of the activities of the revocation and liquidation of their former employer’s businesses
“Do they have any plan to recruit some or all of us into the GCB Capital Limited or the new National Development Bank or other financial institutions?”
The group asserts they’ve endured lot of hardships since the revocation and liquidation processes and must have a clearer stance from the regulator and the government.
The clean-up exercise which commenced in August 2017, led to the collapse of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies, 39 microcredit companies or money lenders, 15 savings and loans companies, eight finance house companies, two non-bank financial institutions and most recently the revocation of the licences of 53 Fund Management Companies.
Last year, the Registrar-General’s Department (RGD) – the official liquidator of Fund Management Companies – begun payments of investors’ locked-up funds.
Reports indicate that, payments to customers of the collapsed Fund Management (FMC) firms begun on Thursday, October 8, 2020.
Payments according to sources were made into the accounts of customers with clients aged 60 and below getting a minimum of Ghs 70,000 while customers above 60 years were paid all of their locked-up funds.
All faith based organizations (FBOs), schools and hospitals were scheduled to get all of their claims.
On the other hand, Financial Institutions and Credit Unions were to get 50 per cent of their claims validated with the rest of the claims put into an investment fund.
Payments of locked-up funds came a day after the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, assured customers of the 53 defunct FMCs of Government’s commitment to refund their locked-up investments.
Speaking on Accra-based Mx24, Reverend Ogbarmey Tetteh noted that out of the 53 affected firms, his outfit was able to access fully the records of 40, and was working to access the records of a further seven in order to take them through the liquidation process.
He stated that, liquidation orders have so far been granted to 22 fund managers and processes are in place to pay depositors their investment.
