Attorney General fires back – AG can’t withhold salaries

• Posted on October 24, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The National President of the Association of State Attorneys has responded to the Attorney General (AG), saying she has no right to withhold their salaries.

The Association declared a strike in protest of government’s failure to meet their demands for improved conditions of services last week.

But the Attorney-General ordered the Association to resume work on Friday October 21, or lose their salaries.

However in an interview with Citi News the National President of the Association, Francisca Tete Mensah defied the AG’s orders, threatening a lawsuit against her.

“We are on strike because the 7 days notice we gave is due. We are not moved…In any case the Attorney General does not have the capacity in this case because the Attorney General is the first respondent, she has not done what she has to do and she does not have the capacity because we are exercising our right.

“If she touches our salary,we will apply the law the against her because it is a criminal offence not to pay workers their pension. People have gone to prison for not paying pension but since we cannot send her to court or apply sub sanctions against her, we are only exercising our rights.”

State Attorneys call off strike

State attorneys embarked on a similar strike about three months ago over the same issues but it later called off teh strike to enable them go through the arbitration process.

State attorneys ditching gov’t for better paying jobs

The Director of Public Prosecution, Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa had earlier complained that experienced state lawyers had abandoned the service for better paying jobs.

She noted that currently, Accra has only 36 prosecuting attorneys, adding that the situation is “worse in the regional offices.”

“People will come, gain the experience and go to better paying jobs, that affects the numbers that we have and the volume of work. We have so much work to do…sometimes you could have a docket sent to us which could be with a particular attorney for about three weeks or a month, not because that Attorney does not want to pay attention to the docket but that attorney has for instance 60 other dockets to work on,” she added.

Reliefs being sought

The reliefs being sought by State Attorneys are:

1. Payments of correct harmonized salaries to state attorneys.
2. Sustainable pension scheme
3. Free official vehicles
4. Research allowance
5. Housing facilities or allowance
6. Free healthcare
7. Payment of outstanding leap, clothing and fuel
8. Payment of outstanding promotion salary arrears
9. Logistic support, machinery, equipment and tools
10. And illegal revision of conditions of service for state attorneys

-Citifmonline