The leadership of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) have indicated that they will resist any attempt by government to lay off workers in the public sector.

The Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo has indicated that “the public sector is full” and government “may even have to lay some off.”

Speaking at the Ghana Economic Forum on Monday, August 7, 2017 on the theme: ‘The Ghanaian-Owned Economy: 60 Years After Independence’, Mr Maafo said it was about time Ghanaian tertiary institutions started producing ‘technical brains’ who can be absorbed by the public sector so that pressure on the public sector will be reduce.

“They [graduates] only find jobs if the private sector grows, if the private sector expands, if the private sector becomes prosperous,” the Senior Minister said, adding: “If we do not get our mindset in this direction, then we are heading for trouble as a country.”

“Most people coming out of our universities,” he said, “are not technical brains.” “Most of them are in the humanities.”

“It is very expensive for the private sector to put up a credible technical university, so, most of the private sectors go into the training of marketing, sociology, economics. Those subjects can be easily taught without expensive laboratories and workshops.”

But speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM on Tuesday August 8, Mr Asante Wiafe, Eastern Regional Chair of CLOGSAG said: “Probably the Senior Minister was asked to come test the waters to see the reaction but we can assure them that we will not allow that to happen, we will fiercely resist any such decision.

“Think of this, the cost the state will incur in laying off workers can rather be used to pay the workers or probably employ more and so we are just watching for now, but we will resist that decision if they decide to implement.”

He added: “If the government wants us to buy into this decision, then the president will have to start with the ministers, he should reduce the number of ministers before talking about laying off workers.”