Civil Servants demands salary arrears or.

Koforidua, March 27, GNA - Mr James Ekow Amissah, Acting Executive Secretary of the Civil Servants Association, has expressed concerned about the inability of government to pay the 10 per cent salary arrears to members of the association.

He has therefore, called on Government to fulfil its part of the agreement and pay them otherwise they would withdraw their services. Mr Amissah was speaking at the opening of the 24th Annual National Executive Council Meeting of the Civil Servants Association at Koforidua in the Eastern Region on Wednesday.

He said Government gave the assurance to pay the salary arrears last year September and it was postponed to March 2008, but which has not been honoured as at now.

Mr Amissah said this kind of unfulfilled promise on the part of Government was not motivating enough because other bodies like teachers, whose membership outnumbered that of civil servants have received their arrears.

"We civil servants do not want to embark on sit down strike to bring government machinery to a hot, so government should not take us for granted," he said.

He noted that the success and failure of the decentralization concept largely depended on the civil servants, but the way and manner they were being treated, left much to be desired.

Mr Amissah said despite the number of challenges such as low salary, lack of incentives and problem of accommodations, civil servants were putting up their best to ensure improvement in the socio-economic development of Ghana.

He urged members of the association to live up to expectation and defend the Association's image all the time. The Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea who chaired the function, in response to the issues raised, assured civil servants that, government was totally committed to their welfare and would ensure that a peaceful atmosphere was created to enable them put up their best.

He said that explained why Government was introducing a single-spine salary structure which would ensure that appropriate salaries were paid to Ghanaian workers including civil servants. The Minister said government acknowledged the role being played by civil servants to the socio- economic development of Ghana and appealed to them not to withdraw their services. 27 March 08