Members of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) in the Ashanti region have fully withdrawn their services indefinitely. 

The workers said they will not resume until the government honours its obligation of paying the 20% neutrality allowance as agreed upon in a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two parties. 

In spite of the official reminders and follow-ups to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, members of the Association indicate that the government has turned a blind eye.

Ashanti Regional Chairman of CLOGSAG, Alexander Obeng, disclosed that the previous strike action was immediately called off because the government consented to their demand.

“Pursuant to the Supreme court’s ruling, the government is to pay us a neutrality allowance. During the first industrial action, the government agreed to pay 20% of the neutrality allowance so we immediately called the strike off.

“However, the government has failed to honour its obligation since the time we went to the negotiation table,” he said.

Mr. Obeng further disclosed that a taskforce is being deployed to ensure members comply with the directive.

“The regional executives are putting strategies in place to monitor activities at the different government departments and MMDAs,” he said.

The neutrality allowance is to compensate members to abstain from active politics and remain neutral in political affairs of the country.

Some government offices at Adum in Kumasi were closed with some doors having red bands tied to them.

A number of customers who visited these offices for their personal businesses were left stranded.

Patricia Seade who sought to make enquiries at the Social Welfare Department was greeted with closed doors as there was no worker to attend to her.

“If you basically have to travel from a far distance to make an inquiry and you are not attended to, then you have wasted all the money you had on you. I got here around 8:00am,” she said.