<<Print>>The Attorney General (AG) has directed all striking members of the Association of State Attorneys to resume work from today, Friday, October 21, 2016 or lose their remuneration.
The AG directive is based on an order issued by the National Labour Commission (NLC) over the ongoing strike by the Attorneys.
The Association of State Attorneys declared a strike on Thursday over government’s inability to resolve some outstanding issues relating to their salaries.
They also raised a number of other concerns including the failure to enforce an earlier ruling by the National Labour Commission.
But speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the Attorney General’s Department , Owusu Ansah denied claims that the AG had failed to enforce the NLC’s ruling, saying “It is not true. There were five issues that were brought before the National Labour Commission that is 1.salaries and benefits. 2. Retentional Single Spine. 3. SSNIT numbers to be sent to controller and I will like to say categorically that all these issues have been looked at.”
According to him, the State Attorneys were categorically instructed not to embark on a strike but they defied that directive.
“The Ministry, the Fair and Wages,Labour Commission have met at the National Labour Commission and these issues were discussed and they were categorically told not to go on strike, that was the directive.”
Reliefs being sought
The reliefs being sought by State Attorneys are:
Payments of correct harmonized salaries to state attorneys.
Sustainable pension scheme
Free official vehicles
Research allowance
Housing facilities or allowance
Free healthcare
Payment of outstanding leap, clothing and fuel
Payment of outstanding promotion salary arrears
Logistic support, machinery, equipment and tools
And illegal revision of conditions of service for state attorneys
State Attorneys call off strike
State attorneys embarked on a strike about three months ago over the same issues.
It later called off the strike to enable them go through the arbitration process.
State attorneys ditching gov’t for better paying jobs
The Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa had earlier complained that experienced state lawyers had abandoned the service for better paying jobs.
She noted that currently, Accra has only 36 prosecuting attorneys, adding that the situation is “worse in the regional offices.”
“People will come, gain the experience and go to better paying jobs, that affects the numbers that we have and the volume of work. We have so much work to do…sometimes you could have a docket sent to us which could be with a particular attorney for about three weeks or a month, not because that Attorney does not want to pay attention to the docket but that attorney has for instance 60 other dockets to work on,” she added.