Employment Minister urges CLOGSAG to call off strike

The Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Rashid Pelpuo, has called on the leadership of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) to call off its strike and come for dialogue.

According to the Minister, their continuous strike has impacted negatively on government businesses.

“I have had discussions with the leadership and I have told them about the need not to be on strike, but to start by doing the talking. At the moment, I am having discussions with the presidency, I am trying to understand the two ways and what they can do and ask the president representative to communicate his thinking and his idea as what he can do for them.

“I believe that CLOGSAG appreciates the situation we are in now. As a new government it is important that we don’t start by having problems with them. CLOGSAG understands the broad dimension of what is happening, they would want to go along with the President, but they have raised these issues to the effect that the man is a politically exposed person. The Head of Civil Service, who they believe he is also in that category, but I am just thinking they should call off and come to some conclusions,” he appealed in an interview with 3news in Accra on March 5.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe Addo says, he is awaiting the Minister to respond to their petition on the need to re-assign the Registrar of Birth and Death Registry.

The CLOGSAG strike has been ongoing since February 20. Government is yet to resolve the issue.

They argued that the Registrar is politically exposed, and his position will compromise the neutrality of the Civil Service.

The sector Minister has had series of meetings with CLOGSAG to resolve the impasse. He asked them to officially petition his office to resolve the matter which has been done.

Dr. Rashid Pelpuo who was worried about the strike assured to resolve their concerns. He said President John Dramani Mahama is worried about the ongoing strike.

“The President is not happy with the strike, he hopes that it will end, he believes that if I talk to them they will get to understand me which I did. My idea was for them to continue working whilst we resolve the matter, but their idea was for me to tell the President to withdraw him whilst we start talking so that’s the point we are now,” he explained.

Dr Bampoe Addo pleaded with the sector minister to respond to their petition before they will call off the strike.

“I am concerned about Ghana, this is about Ghana. Some of these things when Ken Ofori-Atta was the finance minister when he was filling the finance ministry with party apparatchiks and goro boys, what was the end results, and we sometimes blame ourselves for not shouting louder, this time we want to shout louder,” he stressed.

“And this is a test case, should we remain silent, is not about Birth and Deaths Registry. Should we remain silent, it is going to open the flood gate. It is about Ghana” he pointed out.

The post Employment Minister urges CLOGSAG to call off strike first appeared on 3News.

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