Judicial Service Boils Over Salaries

Barring any last-minute intervention by government, the members of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) will lay down their tools, over failure to approve the new salaries for staff since January, this year.

The Anchor is informed that the previous salary, which includes the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA), enjoyed by JUSAG members, had not been reviewed in the last two years, until it expired in December 2022.

But four months down the line after expiration, government has been reluctant to approve a new one, even after necessary negotiations were completed and submitted to the presidency for approval long ago.

The general secretary of the association, Mr.Abdulai Yakubu, said their members are not happy about the situation and, therefore, they will advise themselves, if nothing is done within the week.

“The Judicial workers are not happy because we are the third arm of government rendering critical services to the people of Ghana, yet our salaries have not been reviewed for two years, four months now,” he said.

“All the industrial tools are on our desks. If by the end of this week the new salary is not approved for us, we will employ any of the actions available to us,” the general secretary stated.

According to him, salaries of members were supposed to be reviewed and paid to them in January 2022, but, “unfortunately, that has not been done. We have gone through a lot. The Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) that we were enjoying ended in December 2022.

“And we thought that government would have expedited action for us to enjoy a new salary when the CoLA was on-going, unfortunately that did not happen, our colleagues in the public sector enjoyed their 30 per cent for the past four months, but same cannot be said about us,” Mr. Yakubu said.

The JUSAG general secretary made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, capital of the Upper East Region, on the side-line of this year’s National May Day celebration.

The celebration was on the theme: “Protecting incomes and pensions in an era of economic crisis; our responsibility.”

Mr. Yakubu said JUSAG had been patient enough and expected that the month of May would usher in new increased salaries, “or we shall advise ourselves.”

According to him, “We have gone through a lot, it is just for the President to give us the approval for the new salary, so we call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to please approve and pay us our new salaries.”

Members of JUSAG, clad in their T-shirts, held placards with inscriptions, such as “Mr.Prez CoLA is gone, taxes are killing us,” “Approve and pay our new salaries now,” “Oh Nana Addo, two years, 4months of No pay increase is unbearable, approve and pay our new salaries now,” among others.

Source: Anchorghana.com