According to the workers, they were last paid in July 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”upbmVY5Z0DWBY41QeU6RyOpvy8oearZ6″]They have blamed the government for failing to constitute a board of directors to oversee the affairs of the company.

The spokesperson for the workers, Kinglsey Aboagye, told Citi News that the strike had become necessary as management has been unresponsive to their demands.

“We met and decided that we cannot be coming to work. We are really hard up. People are finding it difficult to even find money to come to work. When you are not being paid, people owe rent, utilities, our children’s school fees, and so we met and decided as a group that we cannot continue like that,” he said.

The workers had threatened a strike last Thursday.

Some aggrieved workers who also spoke to Citi News indicated that, they have been surviving on bank loans after several months without salaries.

Sanction management

The workers who called on the government to intervene believe sanctions should be meted out to management members for their mismanagement.

“The problem is our management because they have to manage our issues, our sector minister, Samuel Atta Akyea, is very much aware of our plight but we are surprised since his government took over power he has not done anything about it.”

“Not paying staff who have worked for close to 7 months is not good management so we believe heads must roll, people should be held responsible for these issues because how do you expect workers to survive without salaries? So we are therefore calling on government to look into our matters and deal with individuals whose negligence have caused our plights.”

Threats by AESL workers in Upper West

Staff of AESL in the Upper West Region are also threatening to lay down their tools in protest the non-payment of their salaries.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, the group said the government had not paid them for the past seven months.

Their leader, Naa Aziz Bukari, expressed concern about the situation, saying it is affecting their productivity since most of them are unable to meet their family obligations.

He has therefore asked the government to immediately pay them or they will have no other choice than to “advise” themselves.

About AESL

AESL was established as an agency of the Ministry to provide Consultancy Services in Engineering and Architecture to Government departments, Organizations, Para-statal Organizations, Commercial houses as well as individuals.

The Agency also undertakes the survey and design of bridges, irrigation works, water supplies, sewerage systems, soils and foundation studies, as well as the testing of construction materials and the valuation and appraisal of properties. The Company is represented in all the 10 regions of the country.

It also supervises Civil and other related projects, and provides quality control services to Contractors, Designers, and other consulting Engineers through its Geo-Technical Laboratories.

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By: Marie-Franz Fordjoe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Eastern AESL workers declare strike over unpaid salaries appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

AESL, which will be supervising the construction work, says it will ensure that the design of the structure will not be altered.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Jjf2GQOKqAzmzh8wjwftoMP0uyjpOB2i”]”Aesthetically, it will look like how it was, we are just trying to maintain the historical significance of Parliament so we are not changing the design in any significant way,” the Managing Director of AESL, Louis Atongo said in an interview with Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu.

Pictures taken of the old structure will serve as a guide for the construction work, he added. The Sunday demolition paved the way for a new one to be constructed at a cost GHc15 million.

The amount for the new structure is part of the budgetary allocation of GH¢37,816,401 approved by Parliament for the implementation of activities and programmes of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

Parts of the building, which housed the Citizens Vetting Committee (CVC), the Judgement Debt Commission, the CHRAJ and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), was burnt in December 2013, making it unsafe for people to occupy.

Old Parliament building wasn’t pulled down

Mr. Atongo also stressed that, it is not the entire Old Parliament building that was demolished, and that only a portion of it was affected by the 2013 fire.

“…that portion got burnt and the structure was so weak and in a deplorable state so there was the need to pull that aspect down and reconstruct so we were consulted by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and we have provided both pre and post contract consultancy services.”

After consultations, AESL advised that the structure was weak and needed to be reconstructed. Per their assessment, it was more prudent to demolish that part of the building and reconstruct from the foundation.

Mr. Atongo noted that, there were other options but “it would have ended up being more expensive and not cost effective.”

“It wasn’t the Old Parliament building that was pulled down. It was just a small portion of it that housed the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice. But the significant portions of the Old Parliament are still intact,” he assured further.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Old Parliament House design won’t change – AESL appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.