Today, the Local Government Committee of Parliament will meet with the Employment Ministry and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to discuss the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana’s (CLOGSAG) requests.
The Committee hopes to persuade the government to agree to paying their allowances, including the controversial Neutrality Allowance.
Several meetings with the government have produced no results, but the Committee has delved into the subject to bring it to a close.
Ranking Member of the Committee, Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, informed JoyNews that they had contacted the Finance Ministry about what has been done.
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“We’re trying to make sure we expedite work on what they are doing; there are few naughty areas that had to be addressed so that the letter of comfort that CLOGSAG has been asking for will be ready.
“Since they have agreed already in detail, that this is something they are going to pay, we see what they can do. In fact, CLOGSAG has conceded and after briefing today, we can say that the onus of resolving this situation lies within the scope of government and the Ministry,” he said.
Mr Vanderpuye stated that a heartfelt plea had been made to CLOGSAG to resume work.
“They assured us that if we could get the Ministry to get them the letter they are asking for, they’d resume work… so, we are going to confer with the Ministry to make sure that they listen to the plea of Ghanaians and do it.”
Background
Following the government’s failure to pay the allowance as promised in January of this year, CLOGSAG lay down its tools on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
It claims that the neutrality allowance guarantees that civil and local government employees do not participate in partisanship while doing their duties in their respective positions.
Many citizens seeking government services have been trapped as a result of the three-week strike.
Many well-known personalities have criticized the employees’ strike decision.
Personalities such as Kofi Bentil, Vice President of IMANI Africa, and Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), have advised government officials to quit if they are unable to remain neutral in the fulfillment of their responsibilities.
Other organizations have urged the Association to reconsider its decision and return to work.
Despite these objections and persuasions, civil workers say that the strike will be called off only if the government follows through on its pledge to pay them the neutrality allowance.
Meanwhile, the deadline for presenting the payment plan has passed, and the administration has yet to return to the negotiating table.
The legislature is the latest institution to intervene in order to persuade CLOGSAG to end its strike.
SOURCE: myjoyonline
