The Member of Parliament for Wa West, Peter Toobu, has questioned the justification for the demand of political neutrality allowance by some public sector workers.
Failure of the government to pay the allowance which is meant to ensure that civil and local government workers do not engage in partisanship in the line of duty has led to the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) embarking on strike.
Many have criticized the introduction of the allowance, but the workers say it is in order.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News however, the Wa West MP, who’s a former police officer, asked the government to adopt a more tenable way of eliminating partisan politics in the civil service.
“I have been wondering. The allowance will not make workers politically neutral. Paying them such an allowance won’t make them neutral. We should rather have a system that will ensure that it is not possible for them to meddle into partisan politics. Let’s agree that it’s an allowance that can cushion them, but as to whether the amount of money will determine their neutrality, I have my doubts.”
The government has requested an extension of time to conclude negotiations with CLOGSAG, on the payment of the political neutrality allowance.
This follows a meeting attended by the Ministries of Finance, Labour and Employment Relations, CLOGSAG, and the National Labour Commission (NLC) on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.
After the meeting, Deputy Labour Minister, Bright Wireko Brobbey, said they are hopeful that all outstanding issues will be resolved by Friday, April 29, 2022.
“We are still talking, and we have not completed the discussions yet, so we have requested a bit of time. So we are hoping by Friday, we will be done. Engagements are happening between both parties; government and CLOGSAG, so by Friday, we will bring finality to the matter. The discussions are ongoing.”
The demand for the Neutrality Allowance has generated public debate with divided opinions on the relevance of such an allowance.
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While some contend that the government giving in to this demand will open the floodgate for other allowance claims from the state, some believe that such an allowance is important to keep civil and local government workers away from serving based on their political interests.
Read Also>>> NEUTRALITY ALLOWANCE NOT THE BEST WAY TO GO; IT MUST BE REVIEWED – AUSTIN GAMEY
