Judicial Service staff across the country, particularly in the Western region, are hoisting red flags over the non-payment of their subventions by government.

The staff yesterday turned up at work in red arm bands in a bid to mount pressure on government to pay subventions after the expiration of the deadline given them by the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG). JUSAG had given government up to April 30 to pay the money, failure of which would force it to advise itself accordingly. According to a report monitored on Joy FM, the workers had issued a new deadline, May 4, to government to make sure that its subventions and other allowances were paid. According to the Chairman of the Interim Management Committee of JUSAG, Francis Brakwa, the wearing of red arm bands by members was the first signal to government. Mr. Brakwa added that government’s failure to pay the subvention was having a negative impact on the operation of the judicial service in the region. According to some of the workers, they have had to, at a point in time, bring items such as printers and A4 papers from their homes to execute office work. In all, there are 24 courts in the Western Region and the total subvention they receive is GH¢5,300, which according to the staff of the judicial service was not only woefully inadequate, but was also not paid on time. According to the staff of the judicial service, if their new deadline was not met, they would ground the entire judicial service to a halt.

JUSAG had given government a four-day ultimatum to pay or release the requisite subventions into the Judicial Service account before it advised itself.

According to JUSAG, government had to release the requisite subventions into the Judicial Service Account by Monday, April 30, but government failed to do so, leading to the current agitations in the service.

JUSAG had expressed concern about the non-payment of subventions due the Judicial Service since the beginning of 2012.

The Investopedia defines subvention income as the amount of revenue or source of funding that a not-for-profit organization retains in order to cover the organization’s annual operating expenses.

The amount of subvention income that is received is often calculated using a predefined formula based on the amount of services that the organization provides.

According to a statement issued in Accra and jointly signed by JUSAG’s chairman and secretary, Francis Brakwah and Derrick Annan respectively, the non-payment of the subventions had caused a lot of unease in the entire workforce of the Judicial Service.

The release said the Executive Committee of JUSAG had on several occasions consulted the management of the Judicial Service about the agitations and concerns expressed by the entire membership.

“Our members are beneficiaries of certain allowances that emanate from the subventions paid into the Judicial Service account. The continued non-payment of subventions to the Judicial Service has brought untold hardship and misery to the families and households of our members”, it lamented.

“Thus, very uncharacteristic of our Association, the prevailing conditions and the overwhelming anxiety from our members have necessitated this press release.”

According to the statement, the steps taken by JUSAG would forestall the simmering disturbances by the rank and file of its membership.