MP Drivers call for more Pay and better Condition

Some drivers of Ghana’s parliamentarians who are paid a “meager amount of GH¢ 400” monthly are appealing to the Speaker of Parliament to impress upon the legislators for an increase.

The drivers, in a petition to the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, asked him to intervene to help improve their conditions of service.

Among their challenges, the drivers said their work agreement with the MPs have only been oral, and as such they are 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 to use their discretion to pay us meager 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.”

Among other complaints, the drivers, some of whom have served for many years said there is no social security for them since the MPs do not pay their contributions to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

While appealing to Prof. Oquaye to get the MPs to pay their SSNIT contributions, they also demanded that they are given allowances for working on public holidays.

“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.

This is not the first time the drivers have raised these concerns.

In 2011, they raised a similar concern as some said they were earning as low of GH¢80.

In 2017, some of the drivers went public with their complaints saying their salaries of between GH¢200 and GH¢400 was woefully inadequate.

The payment of MPs’ drivers’ salaries is the prerogative of the Members of Parliament who hired them directly. The salaries of the drivers, therefore, differ depending on the employer.

Meanwhile some of the Members of Parliament has as well expressed concerns about the bad outrage from drivers.  According to them, the  said drivers could have expressed their grievances to appropriate quarters , that’s to their bosses who employed them the various roles.