A 90-year old man, Mr. Emmanuel Sokpor has been asked to work till he dies. The man is a securityman of Plastic Packaging Products owned by Mr. Harry Khup-Chandani, an Indian. His worry now is the fact that his employers are not willing to either retire him or offer him pension. “I am tired. I have worked for 67 years with these Indians, but they would not let me go and rest. They have refused to pay me pension to enable me go and rest at home.”

Narrating his pathethic story, the old man said he was employed as a storeman in 1934 at the now defunct Lilaram Thawar Gas Company by the late Khemchand Khup-Chandani, father of Harry Khup-Chandani.

In 1947, the company metamorphosed into Glamour Stores where he worked for three years. In 1950, the late Khemchand Khup-Chandani formed Mairfair Garment Factory and took him along. He worked there until the current company, Plastic Packaging Company Products was formed. Mr. Sokpor was subsequently moved to Plastic Packaging Company and has work there till date.

“ I was working for the late Khemchand Khup-Chandani even before Harry’s mother was married. How could a small boy like him treat an old man like me unsympathetically.” Mr. Sokpor said he lodged a formal complaint with the West African Dispute Resolution Centre (WADRC) when all avenues to convince his employers to pay his entitlements failed.

An official of WADRC confirmed that Mr. Sokpor has lodged a complaint with them but when they invited Mr. Harry Khup-Chandani for an amicable settlement, he failed to turn up. They have therefore decided to encourage Mr. Sokpor to institute legal action against him. When Harry Khup-Chandani was contacted for his side of the story, he confirmed that the old man has worked with his father since 1934.

According to him, the old man only works from 5am to 12 pm each day now and he pays him 200,000 cedis ( about $30) a month. Asked why he has failed to settle an old man like this to go and rest, Harry noted that he had since 1984 paid off every worker and was thus maintaining the old man on humanitarian grounds.

He could however not tell how much he paid the old man in 1984. “I was only carrying out my late father’s wish to take care of the old man until he dies and also give him a fitting burial at his hometown at Dabala in the Volta Region. Why should I empoy a 90-year old man when they are energetic young men around,’ he fired back.

Harry Khup-Chandani however noted that by reporting him to the press, Sokpor has stabbed him in the back and he would stop paying him the 200,000 cedis monthly allowance. On why he failed to pay the man’s social security contributions, Harry retorted, “What social security and pension is he talking about. I am just trying to keep him off the streets.”