The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) says it will meet next week to consider the plea to them by President John Mahama to end their strike over interim market premium.
President Mahama on Wednesday urged the striking workers of CLOGSAG to end their two weeks strike because government cannot succumb to their demand since it has resolved not to overspend in an election year.
Addressing the 10th Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Kumasi, President Mahama said any attempt to yield to the demands of CLOGSAG “will throw the budget completely off track, and make nonsense of the sacrifices we have made together over the last year.”
But responding to the appeal by President Mahama, Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe Addo, said they are considering the president’s statement and would meet stakeholders next week to take a decision.
Meanwhile, CLOGSAG says it will not negotiate with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) on its interim market premium which they say they have been denied for the past five years.
CLOGSAG at a meeting with the National Labour Commission said the FWSC is not their employer hence will not sit with them to negotiate on the interim premium prompting the Labour Commission to suspend the said meeting.
“We’ve not sign any Collective Bargain Agreement with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission so they don’t have any business doing there,” Mr Bampoe Addo told TV3.
According to him, the Commissioners of the FWSC at a meeting admitted to that they were not the employers, hence “pleaded with us to allow them to be observers” but said told them that there was nothing like observation in the labour statute.
Asked whether CLOGSAG was not holding government to ransom Mr Bampoe Addo responded negatively saying “We’re not holding anyone to ransom. Our pockets have been held to ransom for the past five years so think about that too.
By 3News|3news.com|Ghana
