JUSAG advised to initiate dialogue on working conditions

The Minister of Employment and Labour, Mr Haruna Iddrisu has advised the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) to initiate dialogue to address their conditions of service.

He urged JUSAG to negotiate their conditions of service with the Judicial Council and indicated that, the Ministry of Employment and Labour and the Fair Wages and Salary Commission would be available to give advice as to how the negotiations should be implemented.

Mr Iddrisu was addressing the Fifth Triennial Delegate’s Conference of JUSAG, which was organized under the theme; “An effective and empowered JUSAG: A key to effective justice delivery in Ghana," at Koforidua.

He said it is a process and must begin from somewhere, adding that, the financial implication that the negotiations would have on government and the Ministry of Finance must also be considered as part of the negotiations.

Mr Iddrisu said, the questioning of the independence and the impartiality of the judiciary, which has dragged their name into disrepute by acts of omission by few members, must be addressed by the Judiciary.

He urged judges and all practitioners associated with JUSAG to uphold the ethical principles of justice to strengthen the service, and called on them to uphold individual freedoms and rights in their efforts to ensure speedy delivery of justice.

Her Ladyship, Justice Georgina Wood, Chief Justice of Ghana, said they must move away from a service which lacks proper administrative structures and schemes and build a strong administrative side of the judiciary that must demonstrate good attitude and fairness to all.

She said there is the need to raise the moral uprightness of the service to play a key role in administering justice, to debunk public perception that the judiciary is corrupt, which has reduced the image of the judiciary over the years.

Justice Wood, indicated that, what the service need is a strategic human resource plan, qualified staff and improvement in the conditions of service of staff to support improvement in service delivery to drive the service forward and enhance public trust.

She said under a new reforms package, an appeals courts records registry had been established, court infrastructure is also being expanded and a 42 court room complex, which is yet to be inaugurated, had been completed to make the justice system efficient and effective.

Justice Wood urged JUSAG members to upgrade themselves and indicated that promotions would be strictly base on performance.

The triennial delegate’s conference is expected to elect national JUSAG executives for the next three years.