A meeting between the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) and the government yesterday ended inconclusively, but the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has called on both parties to resolve their differences in order not to disrupt justice delivery in the country.
After more than two hours of talks, the parties could not come up with an agreement. They are, therefore, set to hold another round of talks on Thursday, May 26, 2016.
Briefing
Briefing the media after the closed-door meeting, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said the talks reached an advanced stage and the two sides would seek to reach an agreement in the next round of talks.
“The Ghanaian public is very concerned about when the strike will end. I can’t make a declaration to that effect, but we have some understanding and by Thursday we should be able to build a consensus subject to the government providing some further clarification,’’ he said.
He explained that the talks bordered on two main issues — the consolidation of the salaries of about 5,200 members of the association, as recommended by the Judicial Council, and the restoration of the allowances of 34 deputy directors and directors of the Judicial Service.
Strike
Members of JUSAG withdrew their services last Friday, accusing the government of delaying the implementation of their consolidated salaries as recommended by the Judicial Council.
According to the association, the government had failed to honour its part of an agreement to implement the new salary structure after it appealed to JUSAG members to call off an earlier strike on April 1, 2016.
The association has taken an entrenched position to remain on strike until the government meets its demands.
GBA is concerned
A statement issued in Accra yesterday by the GBA and signed by its President, Mr Benson Nutsukpui, said “the Bar views this development as unfortunate, considering its adverse effect on the administration of justice in Ghana”.
“The adjudication of cases nationwide has been rendered impossible and all work in our courts has virtually grounded to a halt since the commencement of the strike. The result is that citizens seeking justice in our courts are being deprived of the audience and adjudication that they deserve and have a right to,” it noted.
It said the GBA was concerned that the underlying cause of the strike “has been long-standing and should have been definitely and conclusively resolved much earlier than now”.
“It is important that the government and the National Labour Commission (NLC) attend to and address such issues with dispatch to avoid such unfortunate consequences,” the statement urged.
It specifically entreated the government to immediately expedite action on all matters relating to the implementation of the consolidation of salaries of the Judicial Service “once and for all”.
“We are of the firm belief that as major stakeholders in the justice delivery system, JUSAG will heed to our plea to call off the strike,” it added.
Reaction
Mr Alex Nartey, the President of JUSAG, said the association was looking forward to concluding the consultations at the next meeting.
“We have had some understanding and are, therefore, hoping to finalise the issues at hand,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, the association refuted claims by the NLC that it did not give prior notice before embarking on the strike and that it had not exhausted the negotiation process.
According to Mr Nartey, the association had adequately furnished the NLC with information on its intention to embark on the action.
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