Management of STC reacts to staff protest over appointment of third deputy managing director

The management of Intercity STC Coaches Limited, formerly known as State Transport Corporation (STC), has reacted to a protest by some of its staff against the appointment of a third deputy managing director for the company.

The staff, in a petition, described the appointment of the third deputy managing director as unnecessary, saying that the two current deputies are sufficient to manage the corporation’s needs.

They urged the corporation to focus on acquiring more buses and addressing significant financial obligations, including settling over six million cedis in overdue pensions.

“It is imperative to emphasise the current challenges facing the company, particularly the dwindling fleet of operational buses. Presently, out of a total of 145 buses, only 39 are deemed roadworthy,” the petition stated.

“The outstanding provident fund contributions and other statutory deductions are significantly overdue. The arrears include provident fund contributions overdue for about six years, Tier 2 arrears totalling six months, and SSNIT deductions exceeding six million Ghana cedis (GH₵6,000,000.00),” it added.

The management, in a statement sighted by GhanaWeb, without making any pronouncement on the appointment of the new deputy managing director, said that most of the issues raised by the workers were being addressed.

It said that it had substantially cleared the arrears of the workers’ Provident Fund Contributions and SSNIT contributions.

“Arrears on Workers’ Provident Contributions have dated from 2011 (i.e., fourteen years ago). The arrears have progressively been reduced to four years. (These four-year arrears have been largely due to the Covid-19 difficult operating environment).

“SSNIT arrears have dated from 2013. STC is now current on monthly payments. The arrears have also been reduced to a little above GH₵ four million,” part of the statement reads.

ISTC also stated that it has cleared a huge part of its debt with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

“The STC debt to ADB has been reduced from GH₵140,000.00 to GH₵8 million. STC pays GH₵2 million monthly to ADB.”

It added, “The ISTC Board will meet with the Union leaders on Thursday, June 6, 2024, to resolve the workers’ anxieties over the new appointment, which has occasioned the petition.”