THE NATIONAL Security has held a crisis meeting with the leadership of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) to save the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) from any potential embarrassment, following days of nationwide demonstrations by the agitated workers.
It was not immediately clear why the National Security should come into the fray but DAILY GUIDE has been reliably informed that President John Mills instructed the National Security Coordinator to hold the emergency meeting with CLOGSAG on Wednesday August 25, 2010, after returning from his vacation in the United States, as he feared continuous agitation of the workers’ group could create security concerns for his already-challenged administration.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE yesterday, the acting president of CLOGSAG, Edwards Tennyson Foli, indicated the meeting was fruitful as government has now agreed to listen to their concerns, particularly the right to negotiate on the conditions of service for civil servants for the year 2010.
CLOGSAG had embarked on a four-day nationwide demonstration to press home their demands to negotiate with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and government for better conditions of service, having contended that the 2010 Single Spine Salary Policy (SSSP) was unfair and incapable of alleviating the suffering of its members.
All the demands apparently fell on deaf ears and this resulted in the nationwide demonstration by members to register their displeasure about their inability to negotiate with government and its agency, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, for a better salary structure.
CLOGSAG yesterday called off the demonstrations following the marathon meeting with the National Security, pending further negotiations with all stakeholders in the matter.
According to Tennyson Foli, their call for fresh negotiations has been necessitated by the fact that 98 percent of civil servants have been placed very low on the grading structure of the new policy.
At the meeting with the National Security, he indicated, they agreed that the technical committee which was addressing their concerns on the implementation of the SSSP, should go back to the negotiating table and deal with the matter.
Mr. Foli said there will be a national executive meeting of CLOGSAG today to brief regional executives about the latest development on their concerns.
“I am sure certain concrete decisions will be taken at the meeting on our next line of action,” he hinted DAILY GUIDE.
It would be recalled that GLOGSAG members, during various demonstrations, had carried placards with inscriptions, ‘His Excellency come to the aid of GLOGSAG’, ‘Members of GLOGSAG are professionals so they deserve Professional Allowance’, ‘CLOGSAG has the capacity to negotiate’, and ‘We deserve fair treatment from Fair Wages Commission’.
The workers indicated they did not want Minister of Employment and Social Welfare Enoch Teye Mensah or his Deputy, Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere, to be involved in any future negotiations following days of media war between the workers’ group and the two ministers of state.
E.T. Mensah incurred the wrath of the workers after he reportedly described CLOGSAG members as a pack of “retired” old-fashioned and blockheaded officers.
Calling for the removal of the minister, a highly-infuriated CLOGSAG leadership indicated that “for one to be appointed a minister, one must have moral thinking. E. T. Mensah does not have a moral thinking”.
Also describing the CLOGSAG demonstrations as illegal, Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere threatened that government was going to freeze the workers’ salaries if they did not go back to work.
However, the workers group described comments by Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere as unfortunate and baseless.
Tennyson Foli told DAILY GUIDE that if the minister and his boss had listened to CLOGSAG and addressed their concerns, the demonstrations would not have been necessary.
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