Mobile operators besiege NIA office in anger

About 200 mobile registration operators, who were engaged by the National Identification Authority (NIA), on Monday May 30, besieged the Head Office of the Authority to register their anger over claims that they have been disregarded by the Authority without allowances in the past seven months.

The protest comes on a day when the Authority is to start the distribution of national ID cards nearly four years after registration started across the country.

One of the leaders of the operators, Mr. Kwabena Appiah, told the Host of the Citi Breakfast Show, Bernard Avle that they are protesting because they want to know their status as far as their contract with the NIA is concerned.

Asked whether they were engaged as permanent or casual employees, Mr. Appiah said during their working period, they were assured that anytime there was a break, they were going to be communicated to.

But he says that has not happened since May 2011, when they completed the registration exercise for the Ashanti Region.

“So for that very reason, we think that we are still entitled to our duties as operators” he noted.

The office of the NIA is yet to open for work, but Mr. Appiah says the operators will ensure that no individual or vehicle goes into the offices until they are given an assurance.

According to him, they have petitioned the Authority over some of their concerns which are being considered but at a slow pace, hence their decision to embark on a peaceful protest to press home their demands.

“At the moment, no cars are getting in and no cars are getting out. We want to create awareness and make noise for whoever is in position to help the operators to help- us because they can’t play on our intelligence. We have stayed at home for far too long and Bertha, the PRO of the NIA told us that if for a year they have not called us, then it means we have to advise ourselves. And I don’t think that’s how you work with someone. If you think you are no more in the position to work with a person, all you need to do is to inform them rather than keeping silent which means that you are still concerned about us because silence means concern. That’s why we are taking this action” Mr. Appiah noted.

Source: Citifmonline.com/Ghana