Ghana’s courts reopen after an eight-day staff strike, but the pay deal isn’t final

Ghana’s courts reopen today after an eight-day strike by Judicial Service staff that shut courtrooms and registries across the country.

The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) and a second staff union, SSAJUG, suspended their indefinite strike on the evening of 9 November, after meeting Judicial Service management led by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie. In a statement reported by Citi Newsroom, the Judicial Service said “a mutual understanding has been reached” and that “all staff are expected to resume their duties with immediate effect”.

Why staff walked out

The strike was declared on 30 October and began on 2 November. It was about revised salaries and conditions of service for 2026. JUSAG says the Judicial Council sent its recommendations to the President, but the approval that came back did not match what the Council had advised.

“It is not for the President to pick and choose out of that,” JUSAG’s general secretary, Abdulai Yakubu, told the Citi Breakfast Show on 9 November.

The Finance Ministry had offered to pay 10 months of arrears under the new conditions, which took effect on 1 January, in two instalments: January to May in November, and June to October in December. JUSAG said that was not enough. “When there are issues with the substantive approval, and you go to give timelines for payment of the arrears, you are not really solving the issues,” Yakubu told 3News.

Courts at a standstill

• Accra. About 42 High Courts at the Law Court Complex were locked on the first day, 3News reported.
• Tema. All court entrances were locked by mid-morning on 9 November, with no lawyers, litigants or court staff in sight, the Ghanaian Times found.
• Litigants. At an Accra Circuit Court, a man awaiting judgment in a land trespass case told the Ghanaian Times he had been losing sleep over the uncertainty.
• Supreme Court. A five-member panel still sat on 3 November, the Ghana News Agency reported.

The Minority in Parliament petitioned President John Mahama to step in. “The separation of powers must be demonstrated, not merely declared,” said a statement signed by Frank Asiedu Bekoe, deputy ranking member of Parliament’s employment and labour committee, according to MyJoyOnline.

How it ended

On 9 November the unions received a letter from the Office of the President on the salary review, The High Street Journal reported. After meeting the Chief Justice, they said the government’s revised position largely addressed their concerns. The Judicial Service apologised to the President, Parliament, the legal profession and court users for the disruption.

What is still unsettled

The terms have not been published, and the strike is suspended rather than ended: the unions describe it as “pending the finalisation of the commitments”. The first arrears payment is due this month. The dispute is settled, for now, two days before Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson presents the 2027 budget on Thursday, 12 November.

Sources: Citi Newsroom, 9 November 2026; Citi Newsroom, 9 November 2026; 3News, 5 November 2026; Ghana News Agency, 9 November 2026; Ghana News Agency, 3 November 2026; Ghanaian Times, 9 November 2026; MyJoyOnline, 9 November 2026; The High Street Journal, 10 November 2026.

Top photo: The Law Court Complex in Accra, home to the capital’s High Courts (file photo). Photo: Kwaku Berko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0