Accra, Dec. 24, GNA - The Civil Servants' Association (Ghana) has urged the government to fully equip the National Labour Commission (NLC) and give it a full staff complement in order to ensure that its vital functions are carried out.

In its Christmas and New Year Message released on Saturday, the Association also said the NLC needed the necessary cooperation from all stakeholders.

"We would like to urge government to hasten with the fulfilment of other conditions stipulated in the NLC law, especially having to do with the sensitisation of all stakeholders about the new law so as to ensure its smooth implementation."

The Association said the renewed initiative in the area of the Civil Service Reform was a laudable one and called on the government to ensure that the necessary inputs were made available for its success this time round.

This was because they were aware that without a vibrant Civil Service, no other part of the administration and the economy could perform efficiently and effectively in the country, it said. The statement said: "Despite the worsening economic and social situation in the country, we had a fairly stable labour front during the year, thanks to the maturity and patience of our members. "We would also like to put it on record that having made all sorts of sacrifices for all these years in the interest of mother Ghana, we expect our employer to now fulfil to the utmost all the deferred benefits as a matter of right."

The Association said it was convinced that in the New Year, it would intensify its efforts to better the lot of members as regards levels of negotiated salaries and other conditions of service. It would also ensure that the welfare schemes it had put in place in the areas of regional mutual health insurance schemes, savings and loans schemes and affordable housing schemes would be strengthened and sustained to provide the necessary relief to civil servants. "We implore all our members all over the country to register with the Association's welfare schemes especially the mutual health schemes which are to serve as supplementary and not rival schemes to the National Health Insurance Scheme."