The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has added its voice to pleas to members of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) to suspend their indefinite strike.
The court workers embarked on the strike last Friday, citing government’s nonchalance to their demands for consolidated salaries as reason for their industrial action.
Several institutions including the Judicial Council have adjured JUSAG to call off the strike with the National Labour Commission (NLC) taking the Association to court. The Commission says the strike is illegal.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, May 24, GBA expressed concerns about the “adverse effect” of JUSAG’s action on the administration of justice in Ghana.
“The adjudication of cases nationwide has been rendered impossible and all work in our courts has virtually ground to a halt since the commencement of the strike action,” the statement signed by GBA President Benson Nutsukpui said.
“The result is that citizens seeking justice in our courts are being deprived of the audience and adjudication that they deserve and have a right to.”
It said negotiations to resolve the impasse has been “long-standing and should have been definitely and conclusively resolved much earlier than now”.
It described as becoming too recurrent situations where labour issues are not resolved on time, leading to avoidable strikes.
“It is important that the Government and the National Labour Commission attend to and address such issues with dispatch to avoid such unfortunate consequences.”
The Bar called on government to make sure that the issues to do with consolidated salaries are resolved once and for all.
“While expressing unalloyed sympathy with the cause of JUSAG, the GBA is concerned about the course of action and the probably unintended, yet grave consequences of the strike action. We, therefore, appeal to the members of JUSAG to resume work, thereby empowering their leaders with the moral authority to conduct any negotiations and pursue their legitimate claims on their behalf.
“We are of the firm belief that as major stakeholders in the justice delivery system JUSAG will heed our plea to call off the strike.”
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @kwame_amoh