JUSAG News Stories

A SENIOR STAFF ASSOCIATION?

It has come to attention of leadership of JUSAG that JUSAG is forming a senior staff association to which senior members in the Judicial Service are to enroll.

We wish to state, emphatically that JUSAG is NOT FORMING ANY OTHER ASSOCIATION OR WELFARE UNIT and that we would like to use this opportunity to set the records straight.

Presently, JUSAG is a labour union with a Collective Bargaining Certificate which covers both senior and junior employees of the Judicial Service. S.101(1) of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) and ss. 47 and 48 of our Conditions of Service recognizes JUSAG with the mandate to act for and on behalf of staff of the Judicial Service and to deduct UNION DUES from the staff of the Judicial Service.

Ss. 99(4) and (5) of the Labour Act further enjoin the Chief Labour Officer to issue only ONE collective bargaining certificate to a particular class of workers.

To act for and on behalf of staff, the 1992 Constitution recognizes one representative of the “Judicial Service Staff Association” and no other body. Article 153 of the Constitution states as follows:

                “There shall be a Judicial Council which shall comprise the following persons –

                (a) the Chief Justice who shall be Chairman;

                (b) the Attorney-General, …

                (l) a representative of the Judicial Service Staff Association nominated by the Association;

                (m) a chief nominated by the National House of Chiefs; and

                (n) four other persons who are not lawyers appointed by the President” Emphasis ours.

Therefore any attempt whatsoever to have multiple associations, although not frowned by the Labour Act, does not preclude a representation on the Judicial Council; unless the 1992 Constitution is so amended. Also, where there exist two or more associations, only ONE Collective Bargaining Certificate will be issued by the Chief Labour Officer under ss. 99(4) and (5) of Act 651.

It is out of this mandate that we currently have the Collective Agreement captioned “Conditions of Service for Senior and Junior Employees of the Judicial Service” and to which old and new employees ascribe to.

This emphasizes a mandate on all of us to champion a common purpose and so we have the current leadership after an open election at the 6th Triennial Delegates Conference. The coming together of some two or more persons should not, therefore, encourage us to have fight current leadership, as it appears from those who want to form this senior staff association. In the Judicial Service we have other bodies like Judicial Service Ladies Association of Ghana (JUSLAG), Drivers Association, Finance Staff Association (FISA). These other bodies keep a welfare approach (and not a union approach) and members freely join without necessarily leaving the mother union, JUSAG.

It has come to our attention that the propagators of this senior staff association are compelling members to cease membership from JUSAG. Fellow brothers and sisters, who should negotiate with their dues for others to benefit? We have but one JUSAG and the cessation of JUSAG does not put any other representative on the Judicial Council. What these propagators are attempting to do will NOT help a good cause but rather allow Government to whittle down any strong position of JUSAG. It is unfortunate that some of propagators are those who lost the Conference elections and are bent on anything to tarnish the good image of JUSAG.

Fellow brothers and sisters, JUSAG has come far, the least we should do is to keep the good image that we have now. We implore on our senior citizens to read in-between-the-lines and make a good judgment.

United, We Stand!

Divided, We Fall!!

JUSAG, Justice and FairPlay!!!