Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo, has assured Organised Labour of continued engagement following the recent decision to terminate the sale of six hotels.

This decision comes after Organised Labour's threat of a nationwide strike if the sale proceeded.

On Friday, July 12, 2024, Organised Labour issued an ultimatum demanding the termination of the hotel sale, which led to the Board Chairman of SSNIT, Elizabeth Ohene, announcing the abrogation of the decision.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM on Monday, July 15, 2024, Mr. Osafo-Maafo explained that the termination was necessary to prevent the strike and ensure constructive dialogue with Organised Labour.

"My message to Organised Labour is that the management and board of the Trust will continue to work very hard to manage the assets that we are responsible for very prudently. We are listening and we will continue to engage. That is the main point," he stated.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo emphasized SSNIT's commitment to managing its assets and risks prudently to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Trust.

He noted that the decision to terminate the sale followed significant objections from stakeholders, including unfavourable payment terms proposed by Rock City Hotel, one of the prospective buyers.

"We listened to the objections from the stakeholders and decided to terminate the process. If you remember, when we had the press conference, we said we would engage all the stakeholders, and we have been doing that since then. The unions have also been vociferous, and we listened to their demands and decided to terminate the process," he added.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo also highlighted that the SSNIT management and board had concerns about the payment terms proposed by Rock City Limited, which contributed to the decision to halt the sale.

"We went into a negotiation process; it was the management and board of SSNIT that rejected the terms of payment… The terms of payment were the subject of the negotiation, and therefore we sought to continue the negotiation to reach a solution that was acceptable," he explained.

He further clarified that the process of divesting SSNIT's shares in the hotels began as far back as 2010, under previous boards and managements, not his tenure.

"We don’t think that we left it too late; there were businesses that we have had since 2010. This process started as far back as 2010, when the board invited investors, and then in 2017, and then in 2018 the board directed that we go in to find strategic investors, and the process traveled through to 2022," he stated.

In a related development, Organised Labour has suspended its strike action following the termination of the hotel sale.

This decision was announced at a news conference by the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Yaw Baah, after an emergency meeting on Monday, July 15.

The Ghana Medical Association confirmed the suspension in a statement, directing its members to return to post immediately.

With the strike action called off, it is expected that normalcy will return to affected sectors, including healthcare and other public services.