Some of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) ex-casual workers had mounted a protest against the mode of payment of their compensation by the company. The workers, numbering over 1,000, were laid off some time ago without any reason even though some had worked for over 10 years.
As a result they entered into legal battle with AGA for compensation payment and won but the money instead of being paid to them individually was given to their leadership. “As of now, we do not know the total amount paid by AGA to our leaders as well as documents covering the payment,” Mr John Erzuah, the spokesperson, told a press conference at Obuasi on Tuesday.
He said they were only demanding transparency in the mode of payment and advised the ex-workers to go about the protest without threats and violence. “We are not going to apply threats in our quest to know the truth surrounding this whole transaction”, he said.
Mr Erzuah said they had appealed to the Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the matter. The Spokesperson said AGA had a system of making such payments with every person having his payment voucher on the Company’s letter head together with a pay slip but “this time around there is nothing like that as the leaders had prepared their own payment document headed ‘discharge and release’.”
Mr Erzuah said “our leaders are not making things open to us” and that is why “we want CHRAJ to come in.” He said they were made to understand that surface workers would receive GH¢2,000 whilst underground workers would get GH¢2,800 but the leaders are now paying GH¢1,604.00 and GH¢1,946.44 respectively.
Source: Ghana News Agency
