Strike Looms As MPs Move Into A Closed-Door Meeting

Members of Parliament have moved into an urgent closed-door meeting to discuss what one unnamed lawmaker called �salary related matters� after The Globe newspaper revealed details of plans by some lawmakers to stage possible strike ahead of Thursday's State of the Nation�s Address by President John Mills. In today's edition of The Globe, the paper reported of growing anger among MPs of Ghana over what some have called President John Mills' failure to act on recommendations for pay rises for MPs. The recommendations, the paper said, were contained in a report submitted to the President last year by the Prof. Ewurama Addy Committee, which he formed a year earlier to review the conditions of service of Article 71 office holders, including MPs, the Speaker of Parliament and her two deputies. Details of the Committee's recommendations have not been made public but the newspaper's publication pointed to possible pay rise for MPs, whose take home pay is currently around a region of 3,000 Ghana Cedis. Today's publication, which quoted unnamed lawmakers as having threatened to boycott this week's State of the Nation�s Address by the President, is said to have raffled feathers at the presidency, culminating today's meeting of lawmakers behind closed doors. The Speaker of the House, Justice Mrs Joyce Bamford Addo, is also said to have privately expressed strong worries about the MPs threat to stage what could be the first ever Parliamentary strike in Ghana. A senior source at the ongoing meeting told our Parliamentary correspondent Richard Sky the meeting will attempt to �calm down the nerves of agitated MPs and to caution them against taking any action that may embarrass the President. �