The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG) is calling on the Chief Justice nominee, Justice Sophia Akuffo to prioritise skills development of judicial staff across the country.
According to the President of JUSSAG, Alex Nartey, this will improve the efficiency of its members.
“The judicial service has been able to do much in terms of staff training and retraining and development. We are looking forward to this being looked at immediately. Sometimes we look at it in terms of cost and shy away from it,” Mr. Nartey said.
Mr. Nartey also stressed the need for improved working environment for staff outside major areas like Accra and Kumasi.
“Some of the courts are in a deplorable state. It appears that most of the flashy buildings that the Judiciary has are in Accra and Kumasi. We also operate on the ground at the district level and we need to extend this infrastructure development to all the courts. It is an urgent area we are looking to.”
Though Mr. Nartey made no mention of issues with allowances, JUSSAG has threatened and resorted to industrial action over outstanding allowances in the last few years.
The Association has said its members are economically constrained as a result of government’s failure to pay the allowances.
In April 2017, JUSSAG had served notice it would resort to industrial action to claim outstanding allowances should if government fail to clear the arrears in that month.
The government held a crucial meeting with various stakeholders of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG) to resolve the issues but it is unclear what resolution were settled on.
Last seen, JUSSAG were requesting to be consulted before the nomination of the new Chief Justice.
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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana