Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu has assured the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG) that the allowances owed them will be paid latest by next week.
[contextly_sidebar id=”MMsHhlCrz3dkeL2Br3D4KVxbBjLarLzq”]The Judicial Service workers laid down their tools to demand the payment of their accumulated allowances, after several failed promises from government.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, the Employment and Labour Relations Minister insisted that JUSSAG acted in bad faith since they had scheduled to resolve the matter at a meeting on Thursday.
“I assured them that if they go to my office tomorrow [Thursday] morning at 10:30 I would have shown them the warrant but I assured them further that by the time they’d taken their salaries for May that would have also been resolved and paid to them,” he said.
He expressed that “I don’t think that they haven’t acted fairly but by the close of work tomorrow [Thursday] we should be certain that by Friday through Monday, the holiday, they should be back to work. In my view, the strike action is premature…and avoidable.”
But JUSSAG President Alex Nartey disagreed.
To him, government rather failed to uphold their end of the bargain.
Mr. Nartey however stated that they are open to any discussion that will lead to a speedy resolution of the impasse.
“We look forward for a fruitful meeting tomorrow [Thursday] but we must say that when you are talking of bad faith then the employer must rather be accused of showing bad faith.”
“By public service practices judicial service is suppose to be given something quarterly to cater for these things. Do you think that if they had been proactive, these things would have come up? Who must be blamed? Is it the poor staff who is crying for the little he is due?” Alex Nartey questioned.
He had earlier defended the strike action saying, though it is “regrettable” it s necessary.
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin