Judicial Service staff strike cripples courts

Daily Graphic May - 21 - 2015 , 07:28

A nationwide strike called by the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSSAG) over unpaid allowances yesterday grounded activities at the law courts in Accra, the regional capitals and other parts of the country.

Although litigants and lawyers showed up at the various courts for the adjudication of their cases, they had to leave in disappointment, following the indefinite strike by members of the association.

Accra

In Accra, Nana Konadu Agyeman and Charles Andoh report that there was a huge presence of litigants and their lawyers on the premises of the Supreme Court and the Cocoa Affairs courts as early as 7 a.m. yesterday, but they soon learnt that the courts were not sitting.

Most court users were seen deserting the premises gradually by 10 a.m., resulting in the visible absence of the usual brisk activities at the courts.

Members of JUSSAG embarked on the strike over what they claim is a delay in the payment of their outstanding allowances by the government from July 2014 to May 2015.

According to them, all efforts to have the matter resolved had yielded no fruitful outcome.

Crunch meeting

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, was seen on the premises of the Supreme Court about 9.20 a.m. to participate in a crunch meeting with the Chief Justice and the Judicial Council.

The Daily Graphic gathered that the meeting was to help find a solution to the strike that had virtually crippled almost every court activity.

Judges aided

Meanwhile, when the meeting was ongoing, a handful of judges of the various specialised courts sat in their chambers and called cases that they had adjourned.

Some of the courts that had their judges sitting in chambers were the Labour Court One, the Financial Courts One and Two, as well as the Land Court Four.

In the absence of court clerks, the few judges whose courts had cases being called were aided by policemen.

Frustration

A number of court users who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed their frustration over the strike, which they believed could create tremendous inconvenience if left unresolved.

Some legal practitioners told the Daily Graphic that the failure of the government to immediately pay the allowances of the striking workers could cause a backlog of cases at the courts.

An Accra-based lawyer, Mr Dan Afari-Yeboah, said certainly the strike would create a lot of havoc and inconvenience for court users.

“The longer the action will take, the more backlog of cases will be imposed on the staff of the court, which is already choked with pending and new cases,” he stated.

Another lawyer, Mr Charles Bawaduah, said the Judicial Service staff were those who facilitated the administration of justice, for which reason the delay in the resolution of their grievances could result in a number of issues.

Leadership of JUSSAG

In an interview, the President of JUSSAG, Mr Alex Nartey, stated that members of the association were not prepared to go back to work unless their concerns had been fully addressed.

He, however, indicated that he believed the concerns would soon be addressed if the government really cared, noting: “I’ll be surprised if the government pays deaf ears to our concerns for two or three weeks.”

Commenting on the reason for the strike, he said the leadership of JUSSAG was under siege and that the only way to calm down nerves among members was to “grant their demand by declaring a strike”.

Sunyani

Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Zadok Kwame Gyesi report from Sunyani that the Brong Ahafo Regional capital was not exempted from the nationwide strike called by the leadership of JUSSAG.

At the Sunyani High Court, red bands were hung in front of the building, with many litigants and their lawyers hanging around the premises, as nobody attended to their needs.

Most of the offices at the court were locked, while some JUSSAG members whom the Daily Graphic spotted were dressed in their casual attire and unwilling to assist any litigant.

Reports from the districts in the Brong Ahafo also indicated that the courts there could not sit due to the strike.

Bolgatanga

In Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, the offices and gates of the High and the Circuit courts were locked, leaving only one security man at post to guard the place, reports Vincent Amenuveve.

There was no worker of the courts to talk to.

A group of clients, including some policemen, had gathered in front of the court premises to discuss the issue.

Kumasi

Donald Ato Dapatem reports from Kumasi that distressed litigants, family members of remand prisoners and lawyers were locked out of the courtrooms of the Kumasi Court Complex.

As early as 6 a.m., some litigants who had arrived on the court premises became surprised when they realised that they had been locked out of the area by court security personnel who were usually not even seen at the gates of the courts.

A client, Madam Mary Boison, told the Daily Graphic that she was on the premises to meet her lawyer to seek bail for his son who was on remand.

Wa

Court activities were grounded in Wa and other parts of the Upper West Region, reports Michael Quaye.

In Wa, both the High Court and the Circuit Court were without the usual busy activities.

At both courts, the registries remained closed and locked.

According to Mr Saeed Abdul Shaqur, a State Attorney in Wa, Ghana's justice system remained in limbo.

He appealed to the appropriate authorities to act quickly to save what had become an emergency for Ghana's justice system.

HO

All the lower and the High courts in Ho did not open to the public because of the indefinite strike, reports Tim Dzamboe.

Some clients and their counsel who had been spotted on the premises of the High Court in the morning left by 12 noon.

Jurors were also seen at the entrance of the High Court in the morning but they left later because there was no activity.

When the Daily Graphic went round town, it was observed that the two magistrate courts in town did not open.

Cape Coast

Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports that the gates to the Court Complex in Cape Coast were under lock and key yesterday as staff of the Judicial Service joined the JUSSAG’s strike.

There was no member of staff on the premises, while the few litigants who turned up at the court hung around for a few hours and left disappointed.

Tamale

Samuel Duodu reports that none of the courts in the metropolis sat yesterday following the strike declared by JUSSAG.

Some clients were turned away, including some workers of the Judicial Service who had reported for work.

Some clients who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had not been aware of the strike.

The Deputy National General Secretary of JUSSAG, Mr Charles Osei-Bonsu, who was spotted on the Tamale High Court premises, said he was in the region to ensure that Judicial Service staff complied fully with the directives issued by the leadership.