Ghana’s Civil Servants Begin Indefinite Strike From Today Over “Political Neutrality Allowance”

• The mother union of all civil servants and local government workers in Ghana has asked its members not to return to work from Thursday, April 21 until further notice
• The directive by CLOSSAG to its members is to push the government to pay the "political neutrality allowance"
• CLOSSAG said it signed an MoU with the government about the allowance in January this year but the government has failed to fulfill its end of the agreement

Thousands of Ghana’s civil servants and local government staff across the country have been asked by their union to stay home indefinitely from Thursday, April 21, 2022.

Their mother union, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG), issued the directive in a brief.

CLOSSAG explains that the government has failed to pay what it called the “political neutrality allowance”.

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The allowance was expected to be paid in February and March this year.

The political neutrality allowance has been explained to mean the payment of 20% of civil servants’ basic salary by the government as compensation for staying politically neutral.

CLOSSAG Executive Secretary Isaac Bampoe Addo disclosed in a letter to CLOSSAG secretaries in all the regions that the neutrality allowance was part of agreements drawn up in a Memorandum of Understanding between the union and government on January 20 this year.

The union said it had been compelled to ask thousands of its members not to report to duty following a meeting of its national executives on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

CLOSSAG stated that three months after the MoU, many attempts to get the Ministry of Finance to deliver on its end of the bargain have been unsuccessful.

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CLOSSAG also stated that it has duly notified the National Labour Commission (NLC) about the strike on Thursday, April 21.

The strike is expected to hit hard at government business because the work of civil servants and local government staff in Ghana cut across every sphere of the country.

Court Orders University Teachers Association of Ghana To Call Off Strike

An Accra High Court has granted an interlocutory injunction application filed against the strike action by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).

In a report sighted by YEN.com.gh on 3news.com, the injunction was brought before the court by the National Labour Commission (NLC).

Lawyer for UTAG Kwesi Keli-Deletaa said the motion was seeking to enforce the directive of the Labour Commission, which was filed before the injunction application was filed.

Source: YEN.com.gh