Appeal Court Throws Out UG… Over Retirees Ex-gratia

The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision, has dismissed an application by the University of Ghana (UG), challenging a ruling of the High court that the University should pay ex-gratia to some two hundred and five former employees of the academic institution.

The Appeal court presided over by Justice Kusi Appiah held that the application before the Court has no merit.

In the view of the three-member panel of justices, the Court would uphold the decision of the High Court.

The Court noted that the University must pay the two hundred and five retirees using the new Single Spin Salary Structure.

The court also awarded a cost of GH₵25,000 against the premier university.

The University had sought to overturn the decision of an Accra High Court ordering the University to pay the ex-gratia.

The University had argued that the ex-gratia is paid from its own Internally Generated Funds (IGF) and cannot pay them calculating with the new SSSS.

The retirees had dragged UG before the Industrial and Labour Division of the Accra High Court demanding from their former employer, payment of arrears of their ex-gratia after the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) was implemented.

However, the institution refused to pay after all attempts by the over 200 retirees to seek redress have proved futile.

The plaintiffs are asking the Court to compel the University to come out to state whether they do not qualify for the ex-gratia.

They are also asking the Court to find out on which structure their 2010-2011 basic salary arrears was calculated and if their former employer had used the SSSS, how much arrears would have been accrued on the ex-gratia among other things.

By: Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson