Civil servants in Ashanti region have served notice to halt government business by Thursday if government does not address anomalies in payment of their market premium. Members of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) in parts of the country had to call off similar industrial action last September following an appeal by their National Executive Committee. The shelving of the strike was to allow an inter-ministerial committee of the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to work out modalities for payment of the premium. The aggrieved CLOGSAG members had expected their grievances to be addressed by end of September when the committee completes its report. But “it appears that no firm decision has been taken on the report as we have still not received a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding indicating commitment to payment of the premium”, said a statement, signed by Mercy Acheampong, the Ashanti Regional Chairperson of CLOSAG. An emergency regional council meeting on Thursday, October 25, 2012 will consider an immediate strike and there are indications other regions may follow suit. Speaking in an interview with Luv FM, Regional CLOGSAG Secretary, Daniel Brobbey, said members are agitated to embark on the sit down strike to register their displeasure in the delayed payment of the premium since their migration unto the Single Spine Salary Structure. He said the CLOGSAG cannot compete with colleagues in other sector who are enjoying premium payment because of the disparities. According to him, members have lost confidence in the national leadership of the Association “because based on the promise they gave us, we were expecting that at least the premium should have been paid by now”.