Industrial action: We can’t wait any longer – CLOGSAG
Dr Isaac Bampoe Addo, the Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), says the Association can no longer hold on for Government for better conditions of service.
He said the Association was worried about the “undue delay” in finalising negotiations on the conditions of Service for its members and said they (members) would soon embark on an industrial action.
Dr Bampoe Addo said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency that the call for the strike had been necessitated by Government’s “silence on the conditions of service” for its members.
The Association in a press release on December 22, 2021, stated its intent to embark on a nationwide strike from Thursday, January 20, this year, to press home demands for better conditions of service for its members.
Dr Bampoe Addo said members of the Association had been patient enough, saying, ‘‘the time has come to receive what is due us.’’
He said from Thursday, January 20th, members of the Association would be home until they received a response from Government on better conditions of service.
Dr Bampoe Addo said CLOGSAG had presented a proposal on conditions of service of members accepted by the Civil Service Council and the Local Government Council at a joint meeting and later presented to the then Senior Minister now Advisor to the President as directed by Cabinet.
The Executive Director said it had been decided at a Committee meeting that the proposal be officially sent to the Ministry of Finance for a response.
He alleged that the Minister of Finance had since refused to respond to the proposal.
‘‘For almost two years now, the Ministry of Finance is yet to give comments on our proposal,’’ he alleged.
A driver at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MLER), pledged support to CLOGSAG’s impending strike.
‘‘I need enough money to pay my children’s school fees,’’ he said and appealed to Government to address their concerns.
A staff at the Ministry of Works and Housing said they had been served with notices of an industrial action by CLOGSAG and that they would abide by the notice.
However, Mr Henry Baafi, a Civil Servant, said it would have been appropriate if they had the strike in the middle of the year, saying it was too early in the year for industrial actions.
He urged the Association to engage Government a bit more.
CLOGSAG, a registered trade union and the mouthpiece of the Civil and Local Government staff has about 55,000 members nationwide.
Source: GNA