Increase Our Salaries, GHȻ 400 Not Enough – MPs Drivers Petition

A group of Drivers for the Parliamentarians who think their salaries are not enough have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, to influence the law makers of our land to increase their salaries for GHȻ 400 is a meagre and can’t cater for themselves and their families.

In the petition addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, they asked him to get involved to help improve their conditions of service.

That notwithstanding, the drivers said their contracts with the MPs are not documented and as such, they were not secured.

“Right Honourable Speaker, our terms of engagement by our employers (Honourable Members of Parliament has largely been oral. Without any rules of engagement which makes our bosses use their discretion to pay us meagre amount of GH¢ 400.00 as monthly salary.

“Subject to the labour Act 2003, Act 651, section 67, employees remuneration are enshrined in the Act of which we are pleading for increment in salaries which we believe can help us to survive the economy.”

Again some long serving Drivers of our Parliamentarians also felt cheated for their bosses not paying their SSNIT contributions for them.

“Our services with our employers are not secured due to the manner of our engagement. We are hired and fired at the MPs’ own discretion. We hope and plead to your outfit to help streamline it including payment of our Social Security and National Insurance Trust which are not being paid,” the drivers said in the petition.

“We the drivers over the past years have formed a welfare union to seek for better conditions. We humbly plead to the leadership to come into negotiation with us for us to have a collective bargaining agreement, and we believe this agreement will help stimulate our responsibilities, duties and our entitlements. We trust the existence of the CBA will give us some sense of security and also motivate us to discharge our duties well,” the drivers added.

These concerns have constantly been raised in previous years where in 2011 some Drivers were receiving as low as GHȻ 80, in 2017 some were receiving between GHȻ 200 and GHȻ 400 of which is very doleful and the same this year.

By: Radio1News|Ghana