Tamale, Sept. 19, GNA- Organised labour's threat to go on strike over the two and half per cent deduction of their SSNIT contributions to fund the National Health Insurance Scheme, is not politically-motivated. Mr Anthony Ekow Dadzie, General Secretary of the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) who said this, explained that the intended action has something to do with workers welfare and those of their families and was, therefore, devoid of any political consideration.

Mr Dadzie was speaking at a one-day joint consultative Northern Region forum of members of the Civil Servants Association (CSA), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Judicial Services Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG).

The forum, organised by the Northern Regional Secretariat of the TUC in Tamale on Thursday, discussed among other issues, the deduction of the two and half per cent of workers' contributions to the SSNIT. Mr Dadzie said it is not clear in the National Health Insurance Bill whether workers on retirement will continue to enjoy the scheme and urged the government for explanation.

He said: " My brothers, we are all witnesses to the scanty pension SSNIT pay to retired workers and if we allow two and a half per cent of our contributions to be deducted to fund the NHIS, we would be more impoverished.

"Look at the pensioners, their living conditions and judge for yourselves if these are good enough and decide where you want your money to go", he said.

He said even though the "cash and carry" system did not promote greater access to health care delivery, the NHIS is not the panacea since only contributors will benefit from the scheme.

He called on the government to encourage SSNIT to improve the benefits of workers to take care of their health and those of their families and not to use their contributions to fund the NHIS.