Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By
William Yaw Owusu
Monday, October 21, 2013
The Civil and Local
Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has called the bluff of Deputy
Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere over threats
to coerce their members to call off the one week old strike.
The Deputy Minister is
reported to have threatened on Thursday that CLOGSAG members should consider
taking their salaries from their executives if they did not call of the strike.
The over 43,000 members nationwide have maintained
since Monday that they would not call off the strike if their demand for what
they called ‘Top up’ or ‘premium’ was not met by the government through the
Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
At
a hurriedly-organized press conference by the national executives of the
association in Accra on Friday and addressed by Isaac Bampoe Addo, Executive
Secretary said “CLOGSAG is utterly dismayed at the utterances of the Hon. Antwi – Boasiako Sekyere”
Legitimate
Strike
Mr. Bampoe-Addo said “from
reliable sources, Hon. Antwi - Boasiako
Sekyere was threatening CLOGSAG members who are legitimately on strike. We
think he should be more worried about his inability to produce any report
having chaired meetings on issues relating to migration of staff within Civil
and Local Government Services in 2010.”
Lack
of Appreciation
He said that “from what
he had portrayed on radio and television, it is evident that he has little
appreciation of the contents of the Hon. E.T. Mensah’s Report on Payment of
Premium to staff within the Civil and Local Government Services issued in
April, 2012 which is available in his Ministry.”
CLOGSAG said “being
part of the meeting that set up the Inter Ministerial Committee on Payment of
Premium to staff of Civil and Local Government Services on September 6, 2012
and the fact that the Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee had been with
the Ministry since October 2012, CLOGSAG expected him to explain the delays in
the implementation of these reports triggered by his superiors.”
Always
There
“He has served as
Deputy Minister under four Ministers in that Ministry, and he should be in a
better position to advise his Minister and the Government on the content and recommendations
of these reports,” adding “maybe, he thrives on confusion and chaos that is why
he had remained silent on the issue.”
“Is it not surprising
that in spite of the numerous strikes and industrial actions that had taken
place since his appointment as Deputy Minister in 2009, he had not found it
necessary to threaten any Association or Union except the CLOGSAG’s legal
strike?” he queried.
Mr. Bampoe Addo said
that names have denotative as well as connotative meanings adding “thus, the
Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations by its name should not be the
avenue for such statements on the nationwide strike declared by CLOGSAG.”
Shattered
Reputation
CLOGSAG said that the
deputy Minister’s action actions “have really shattered the reputation and
respect that the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations has built over the
years. No wonder the industrial scene has been anything but peaceful all this
while.”
“If the Deputy Minister
is not pretending to be unaware of events leading to the CLOGSAG strike action,
then he has exhibited short memory. He has not been useful to the Ministry and
he should honorably resign or be removed from office.”
Throwing
Dust
“It is, therefore,
untenable for the Deputy Minister (MELR) to throw dust into the eyes of the
public by telling the whole world that CLOGSAG had refused to be part of a
voluntary arbitration process, when he knows that it was the FWSC that withdrew
from the voluntary arbitration process vide their letter No. FWSC/D/SCR.25/Vol.
4A/54 of 10th September, 2013.”
“By now, he should have
realized that repeating lies over and over again cannot turn it into a fact or
truth. His office is not meant for propaganda rather the Ministry has been
created for professionals to run affairs of industrial relations in the
country.”
“If Hon. Antwi - Boasiako Sekyere , Deputy Minister for
Employment and Labour Relations would close his eyes to directives issued from
his Ministry to FWSC and aware that FWSC withdrew when the National Labour
Commission triggered the voluntary arbitration process as well as FWSC ignoring
recommendations from Committees set up by his Ministry, then he has no moral right
to threaten members of CLOGSAG who are seeking equity and fairness in the
implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy.”
He called on all
CLOGSAG members to remain ‘resolute’ since the strike “continues unabated.”
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