The Management of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has outlined a six-month roadmap aimed at addressing all statutory and welfare deductions of staff of the company that have, in recent times, been the source of agitations against the airport operator.
“Beginning from August, 2021, all welfare and statutory deductions would be settled,” the company has resolved.
The welfare deductions include departmental welfare, senior staff, trade associations, credit associations, among others. Payment of Tier 2 will also commence in October 2021 over a period of six months.
Management, in consultation with the Board, have concluded arrangements for the payment of SSNIT contributions from August 2021 over a period of twelve months. Further to that, PAYE payments will also begin in October, 2021, for a period of twelve months.
The move is expected to bring to an end, the hostility between management and staff of the GACL.
The roadmap was arrived at following management’s meeting with the GACL Board, a decision which was subsequently communicated to workers of the airport operator at a staff durbar held on Wednesday, August 11, 2021.
The Divisional Union of GACL was present at the durbar.
The plan was subsequently conveyed to the workers of the airports operator at a staff durbar held, with same confirmed in a circular to all staff.
Staff engagement
The Managing Director of the GACL, Yaw Kwakwa, said management would continue to deepen staff engagement at all levels for them to know the financial status of the organisation.
He said the six-month roadmap that had been put in place for the payment of all outstanding statutory and welfare deductions would duly be followed. He believes that it will help restore staff confidence and improve on the working relationship between staff and management.
“I take responsibility of all that is happening at the company. The workers have every right to complain when they are going through hardship. What I don’t condone is to take the law into your hands and attack management members.
“We’ve worked together for some time now, and I know how they feel when certain things are not going on well for them. But management is working very hard to address all their challenges,” he said.
“We are going to stick to our roadmap, and I believe that at the end of the day, there will be all smiles and the bond that existed between management and staff will greatly be improved.
“Our number one challenge had to do with the refinancing of the over US$400million asset-backed corporate loan we took to finance our capital expenditure requirements under two separate components. But, like I said, we will continue to engage our workers and resolve all outstanding issues,” he added.
Background
The GACL has in recent times been in the news as a result of staff agitations against management of the company over unpaid statutory and welfare deductions.
In view of this, management had engaged the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), acting for the GACL Divisional Union, and given an overview of the financial situation of the company. They stressed on the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the accompanying result of a severe reduction of its capacity to fulfill its financial obligations.
At the said engagement, management of the GACL is said to have pointed out to the Union that it had proactively made a strategic move at refinancing the loan the company took prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had mitigated the financial effects.
Available information indicates that prior to the refinancing, GACL had APSC revenue receipts of approximately US$21.6million per quarter and made loan payments of US$19.1 per quarter.
With these figures, management anticipated that with the refinancing, payment would dip to US$6.1million, thus providing GACL with extra cash flow of US$13million to support corporate operations.
However, this arrangement was truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic because APSC revenue dropped from us$21.6million to US$6.3million per quarter, a situation which eventually halted any plans by management to support any likely salary increment because the airport operator now lacked the capacity to do so.
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