Accra, May 26, GNA - An Accra fast Track High Court presided over by Justice Edward Amoako Asante, on Thursday ordered Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) to pay the entitlements of some retired staff within 30 days.

An unspecified number of retired staff of the Ghana Commercial Bank belonging to the Retired Staff Association of GCB (RESAG) sued the bank for non-payment of their pension benefit under a scheme called Special Pension Scheme.

Under the scheme, any employee, who at the time of retirement or leaving the bank, had attained the age of 45 and worked with the bank for a minimum of 15 years was qualified to benefit.

The Special Pension scheme established on October 1, 1976 was abrogated by the Board of Directors of the Bank on December 18, 1990 and staff, who were eligible to benefit from the scheme, were placed on the bank's pension while those who were yet to attain the compulsory retirement age, were transferred onto the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension hence the bank's refusal to pay the entitlements.

Nevertheless, the members of RESAG had stated that they were legally eligible to participate in and enjoy the benefits of the Special Pension Scheme established for the benefit of its employees in 1976. RESAG said the Bank had taken a decision to abolish the Special Pension Scheme without the prior consent of the employees.

A statement issued by RESAG after the verdict described the verdict as "victorious for Justice".

It said it was also victory for RESAG who had been denied the benefit of their pension under the Bank's special pension scheme.

The statement said for almost seven years the retirees had tried in various ways to resolve the matter with the Bank out of public view but to no avail. It even engaged the services of a jurist and advocate of Alternative Dispute Resolution to undertake a mediation process with the Bank but that also failed.