205 Pensioners Angry; Over Single Spine Salary Arrears

An intended appeal filed by the University of Ghana, Legon aimed at challenging a High Court decision which granted judgement in favour of some 205 ex-staff has been struck out over the university’s “non-compliance with the rules of the court.”

The staff members on December 7, 2015 had judgement after the court upheld their application which demanded the payment of their basic salaries since the Single Spine Salary Pay Structure took effect before they retired between 2010 and 2011.

But, when the case was called before a three-member panel of judges of the Court of Appeal presided over by Justice P.K Gyaesaryor the applicant (University of Ghana) failed to pay GH¢ 4, 000.00 for the court’s records.

Nania Owusu Ankomah, counsel for the university, told the court that they had not filed their written submission in respect of the appeal case because they had not paid the GH¢ 4,000.00 required of them for the case to be heard.

Counsel for the ex-staff, Nicholas Nkrumah, prayed the court to award them a cost of GH¢ 20, 000.00 since the university had wasted their time.

But, counsel for the university prayed for a minimal cost of GH¢ 1,000.00, but the three-member panel consequently awarded a cost of GH¢ 2,000.00 and struck the case out for non-compliance with the rules of the court.

Speaking to the DAILY HERITAGE after the court sitting on the premises of the Law Courts Complex, the leader of the 205 pensioners, Mr. Bennett Acquah Impraim, who was beside himself with rage over the delay in paying them the arrears, told the paper that when the Single Spine Salary Structure implementation started, the university was supposed to have worked it out and give them the balance, but that did not happen.

Efforts to have their difference paid to them have proved futile, resulting in them filing an application in court which went in their favour, he said.

He said though the university had provided them with the roadmap for paying them, nothing concrete had been put forward, adding that all the public universities had paid the difference to their ex-staff who retired within the same period except the University of Ghana.