Mon-Tran owes workers over GHc195,000

By: Fred Yaw SARPONG

fsarpong@theeventpr.com

Mon-Tran is allegedly owing it workers over GHc195,000 as medical fees deducted from the workers salaries.

The workers who numbered over 300 were sacked after Ecobank Ghana terminated the contract between Mon-Tran Ghana Limited and the bank;

Accoding to the workers, the management of Mon-Tran deduct GHc15 from each worker slary every month. “Some of us never visited the hospital facility while others visited the place for ones. Other too never go there at all,” some of the workers complained.

“We are over 300 workers. But saw a publication that we numbered 181, which it’s not true. If they claimed we numbered 181, then they owes us more than GHc195,000. A lot of us have served the company six years and above,” one worker (name withheld) further noted. 

According to the Ecobank, the termination of the contract is part of the restructuring exercise the management of the bank is undertaking.

The bank is expanding its digital system which is expected to improve client relations, hence reducing the staff across the country. This is taken place after the completion of the bank’s ultra-modern office around the Independence Avenue, close to the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra.

The exercise is also to reduce the number of branches across the country from 77 to 67. The affected staffs were those on contract with Mon-Tran Ghana Limited.

Rubby E. Ampim, the Head of Human Resources at Mon-Tran confirmed the termination of the contract between the company and the Ecobank Ghana. However, she refused to give further explanation.

The contract staffs of Ecobank received a letter from the Mon-Tran which says that Ecobank Ghana has terminated the contract between them effective Friday 1^st September, 2017.

The letter, which the Daily Express has a copy and was signed by Madam Rubby Ampim reads: “we have been informed by Ecobank authorities that as a result of a restructuring exercise being carried out within the bank, your role as a Teller with Ecobank Ghana Limited will no longer be required with effect from  September 1, 2017.”

It also states “consequently, your contract with Mon-Tran Limited has ended as from the above mentioned date. Nonetheless, we have noted to recall you for possible re-assignment should the need arise with any of our wide range of clients whereby you will be interviewed to justify your suitability.”

For some years now, Ecobank Ghana outsourced the staff of the bank to Mon-Tran Ghana Limited. The Daily Express checks revealed that the workers who numbered more than 300 have been relieved from their post.

The workers are mostly the Ecobank Ghana tellers and customer service personnel, depending on the role assigned to you by the bank.

Some of the workers have been under the Ecobank/Mon-Tran contract for 10 years while others have served between five and eight years. “Every year we are made to sign a new contract,” one of the affected workers told the Daily Express.

“We were not informed about this development. On Thursday 31^st August, 2017, immediately after balancing my cash account, my profiles were just disabled to my surprise. I tried to enter my password, but the information that appears on the screen of the computer reads “system disabled, contact administrator. On seeing this, I was so alarmed and decided to make further checks to other branches to verify what I’m experiencing, and to my surprise the same situation occurred across all the branches. I then called the Mon-Tran manager to find out what was going on and only to be told that Ecobank had written to them that effective Friday 1^st September, 2017 our services are no more going to be needed,” Another worker told the Daily Express.

Meanwhile, the Daily Express checks in some of the Ecobank Bank branches indicated that as a result of the termination of the Mon-Tran contract, there has been reshuffle among the permanent staffs. There is also massive transfer going on currently.

The Daily Express gathered that every year, the management of Ecobank Ghana absorbed some of the Mon-Tran workers into the main stream as permanent workers.

Meanwhile, the management of the Mon-Tran have promised the affected workers one-month salary by end of September, 2017 as payment in lieu of notice. Attempt to reach the management to respond on the issue of medical fees failed.