PROBE NIA EXECUTIVES

….aggrieved workers demand

BY STEPHEN DARKO

Some temporary workers of the National Identification Authority (NIA) are up in arms against executives of the company.

Their beef with management is as to why they continued to pay workers who have stopped working for the company. They have therefore called on President John Evans Atta Mills, as a matter of urgency, instigate investigations into NIA’s pay roll.

“Why should people who are no longer working with the company still be receiving salaries and allowances: this is unthinkable and cannot be practiced anywhere apart from Ghana” one of the irate workers said.

The workers alleged, among others things, that persons who have deserted their posts still receive salaries and allowances. This, they could not come to terms with especially where some of them who are in active service receive low remuneration.

The NIA currently has about one thousand (1000) temporary workers on its pay roll.

Speaking on Joy Fm, this afternoon some of the aggrieved workers also complained of non payment of salaries and allowances since February, 2009.

According to the disquieted workers, some of the machines provided them by their superiors to work with are outdated, causing interruptions anytime they are on the job.

One of the workers who wanted to remain anonymous told Joy Fm that “the machines we are working with are the old type and this is causing enough problems for us. I think it will be in the interest of all of us if something is done about the machines.”

The National Identification Authority is due to commence the issuing of identity cards to Ghanaian citizens in Accra by the close of the year, but report emanating from the office is that the Authority is financially handicapped. The Authority has since covered two regions which are Volta and Central regions respectively.