CLOGSAG ON STRIKE

Isaac Bampoe-Addo (middle) at the news conference 

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, July 22, 2016

The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has announced the commencement of a strike action from Wednesday July 27 over the government’s failure to get their input on the payment of premium to qualified personnel within the service.

Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe-Addo at a news conference on Wednesday accused the government of refusing to include them in the process to determine the Interim Premium and ordered its members to stay at home if the government failed to respond to them by the assigned date.

CLOGSAG insists that the government through the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has failed to get their input on the payment of the premium.

According to the association it sighted a draft report of the presentation of a sub-Committee of the FWSC on the ‘Transition from Interim Market Premium to implementing Market Premium.’

The presentation was made in Accra on May 26 to the National Committee on the implementation of decisions in the Takoradi Forum Committee which had been constituted and inaugurated by the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations.

“CLOGSAG would wish to emphatically state that it was neither requested to submit justification for payment of premium to qualified personnel within the Civil and Local Government Services nor was the association invited by the sub-Committee, describing the committee as ‘incompetent.’

Dr. Bampoe Addo said that the committee had made a compelling statement to the effect that in determining the skills that qualify for Market Premium, it had focused on “the health and education sectors as these formed the priority areas of government.”

“To say the least, this statement is provoking and improper as regards the Civil and Local Government Services.  Based on current expertise at the FWSC, CLOG SAG is of the view that the output of this Committee would be misleading, unprofessional and above all mischievous.”

He said a critical look at the purported presentation “would justify such an assertion,” adding “CLOGSAG is of the opinion that a more competent, responsible and efficient team should be put in place to undertake this task.”

Dr. Bampoe Addo emphasised that having considered all issues pertaining to the implementation, as well as the content and import of the presentation, CLOGSAG had decided that the Interim Market Premium should also be extended to its members and the effective date should coincide with the implementation date of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), which is January 1, 2010.