Some allowances have been in arrears for more than 10 years – JUSAG explains strike
by Miss Naa · MyNewsGh.comGeneral Secretary of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG), Abdulai Yakubu, has revealed that some allowances at the centre of the association’s ongoing strike have remained unpaid for more than 10 years, despite repeated industrial actions and attempts to secure their implementation.
Mr Yakubu said the allowances were included in the association’s 2012 conditions of service but had not been implemented, forcing successive JUSAG leaderships to pursue their payment through negotiations and strikes.
“If you ask me, I will say some of them have been in arrears for more than 10 years. There’s history to this,” he said on Joy News.
He explained that the dispute had previously reached the Supreme Court in 2015, when JUSAG pursued a case involving the Attorney-General and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission over the determination of the workers’ conditions of service.
According to him, the Supreme Court ruled that a regulation was needed to govern the determination of the conditions of service and directed the relevant authorities to put one in place within three months.
“The Supreme Court reasoned that there was a need for the Attorney-General and the Judicial Council to comply with Article 158, clause 2, to make a regulation that will govern the determination of our conditions of service and gave the Attorney-General three months to get that done,” he said.
However, Mr Yakubu said the directive was not implemented within the stipulated period, leaving the association to continue pushing for the outstanding payments.
He said successive leaders had organised strikes to demand implementation of the allowances, but assurances received during engagements with the relevant authorities often failed to translate into payment.
“We kept pushing. Series of strikes have been held by JUSAG by successive leaders to ensure that these payments are done. Most of the time you will get assurances and it will not be paid,” he stated.
Mr Yakubu said the association eventually secured progress in 2025 when the regulation governing its conditions of service was passed, providing a legal framework for the outstanding matters.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
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