THE JUDICIAL Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) has suspended its strike for up to Monday, October 31, following an intervention by the Chief Justice, Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo.
The association was to embark on an indefinite strike beginning last Friday over government’s failure to pay their rent allowances which formed part of their conditions of service.
The President of JUSAG, Mr Alex Nartey, said the labour union had to call off its planned action after the Chief Justice intervened and assured them to meet the government over the matter on Wednesday October 25.
“We issued a notice of an industrial action over this issue to the Labour Commission. The notice has attained maturity and gives us the basis to embark upon a legitimate industrial action.
“The Honourable Lady Chief Justice has, however, made an impressive intervention appealing to us to give her up to October 25, 2017 to take up the issue with the government and the Judicial Council. The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations has also met us and our next meeting is October 31, 2017 to finalise the issues,” he said.
Mr Nartey said JUSAG would have no other choice than to embark on an industrial action on October 31, 2017, should the Chief Justice and the meeting with the Labour Ministry fail to yield results.
Rent allowance
JUSAG has constantly expressed its intention to embark on an industrial action after it served notice that the rent allowance to be paid its members had been outstanding since January, 2017.
Mr Derrick Annan, the General Secretary of JUSAG, earlier said although the salaries and allowances of JUSAG members had been consolidated per the recommendation of the Judicial Council, some of the allowances, including the rent allowance, had not been considered.
It said JUSAG had not entered into any agreement to cancel the said rent allowance as was being rumoured, and that the agreement entered into with the government for the rent component to be paid on a quarterly basis still holds.
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