Anglogold Ashanti Doles out Financial Advice for Laid-off Workers

Financial advice has been handed out to more than 800 mine workers for Anglogold Ashanti from the Obuasi community in Ghana who attended a special investment fair.

They are among what is being estimated as an overall figure of 6,500 workers who are being retrenched as Anglogold Ashanti shuts down its old mine site to relocate to the Sanso site also in Obuasi.

The fair was endorsed by the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) which has started its own programme to help its members better manage their severance packages.

Following negotiations, union members will be paid 25 percent of their annual salary multiplied by the number of years they have worked at the mine.

Education and advice about handling personal finance form part of the GMWU’s sensitisation programme.

The investment fair included more than a dozen investment institutions and recruitment agencies who were able to recommend plans for more efficient management of the monetary packages.

Prince William Ankrah, General secretary of the GMWU, has been reported saying: “The campaign is working well and management is supportive.”

The retrenchment programme was announced earlier this year and Anglogold Ashanti is expected to spend $220 million in settlement packages.

However, it is expected within two years the company will re-hire some of the more highly skilled workers once the redesign of the mine has been completed.

The decision to close the old mine has been blamed on rising production costs, high under-performance of works and unstable world markets affecting prices.