CLOSSAG worried about government's lay offs

Members of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), have expressed worry about the decision of government to lay off workers.

Mr Isaac Bampoe Addo, Executive Secretary of CLOSSAG, who was speaking at a thanksgiving service to round off activities for 2015 in Accra, he wished workers well but expressed concern over government’s intended action to cut down the size of the Civil Service.

“We are worried about the IMF always targeting the Civil Service in rationalisation programmes.

“If the dwindling size of the Civil Service to the workforce in the public services is taken cognizance of, it would show that using the Civil Service as a trigger is misplaced,” he said.

He said the IMF and the World Bank have always sought to use the

Civil Service, which is less than two per cent of government’s workforce as a “sacrificial lamb”.

This comes on the heels of government decision to heed to the IMF to embark on a massive lay-off of workers in the public sector in exchange for a bailout under a three -Year Extended Credit Facility Programme.

Mr Bampoe said none the less, he said “Civil Servants will remain faithful partners of the government and must be properly resourced to carry out their arduous functions."

He expressed concern about the exclusion of civil servants from getting elected as members of parliament and at variance with Article 94 (3b) of the 1992 Constitution.

“CLOSSAG is of the opinion that experience gained in working with all shades of government coupled with the capacity built through training and re-training should rather be deemed an advantage.”

He said the neutrality principle cuts across all public institutions and should not be applied as deterrent in CLOSSAG.

Evans Dzikum, Vice President of CLOGSAG said, in spite of the high cost of living in the country, civil servants had remained committed to support national development.

He said the IMF retrenchment exercise continue to be a source of worry for every member of the association.