Judicial workers in Ghana have threatened a total shutdown of the judiciary from next week to push the government to review their current salaries ahead of the presentation and approval of the 2020 budget statement.
According to the workers, reliable information they have received suggest the government is seeking to sidestep a proposal on their salaries, which was submitted to the Finance Ministry for inclusion into the 2020 budget statement.
The Finance Ministry, they claimed, rather wants to implement the said proposal agreed upon between them and the Judicial Council, in 2021 instead of 2020
“The Association vehemently disagrees with the position taken by Government,” the workers who form the Judicial Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) said in a letter to the National Labour Commission dated November 1.
They have thus served notice to embark on strike from November 13.
Prior to that, the workers say they “shall put on red-arm bands and hoist red flags in the courts, nationwide” from November 5.
The workers said their current salary was implemented in 2017 and it was to be renewed bi-annually.
“However, in the year 2017, the Ministry of Finance sought to cancel the payment of rent allowance to our members and after several protests, the Judicial Council, Government and the Association resolved the issue in 2018 and for implementation in year 2019,” they claimed.
According to them, they wrote for the salary negotiations on 26th April, 2019 and subsequently served a reminder on 29th July, 2019.
“On 1st October 2019, the Judicial Council, mandated to review our salaries and other salary related matters under the 1992 Constitution, set up a committee and considered the proposals of the Association.
The workers said it was resolved that the decisions of the meeting will be forwarded to the Presidency for approval and same captured in the National Budget for year 2020.
“It has, however, come to our attention that Ministry of Finance has rather slated our salary review for the year 2020 and for implementation in year 2021,”.
This, the workers say, they will not agree to for which reason they have served notice to strike from next week Wednesday.
By 3news.com|Ghana
The post Courts to shutdown as workers threaten strike over salary demands appeared first on 3news.
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