Boards For Fair Wages, Labour Commission Inaugurated

The boards of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the National Labour Commission (NLC) were yesterday inaugurated, amidst optimism from the social partners that there would be industrial peace and equity in wage and salary administration.

The FWSC Board is chaired by Mr John Theophilus Warmann, with Ms Peggy Addo as Vice-Chairperson, while Mr Solomon Kobina Amoah, Mrs Victoria Kumbour, Mr Alex Frimpong and Mr Bossman Agyarko are members.

Mr Joseph Aryitey, the first Chairman of the NLC, which was established in 2004, was nominated again to serve a four- year term.

The government has Opanyin Obeng-Fosu and Mr Kofi Attoh as its representatives, while organised labour has Mr Paul Osei Mensah and Mr Dennis Vormayor as its representatives on the NLC Board.

The Ghana Employers Association (GEA) has Mr Dan Acheampong and Mrs Angelina Domekyaareh as its representatives.

Inaugurating the two boards, the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao, underscored the importance of the two organisations to all the social partners, namely, the government, employers and organised labour.

He described them as institutions treasured by the government, as their existence and operation ensured harmony in the industrial sector.

Mr Kwao tasked the members of the two boards to immediately get to work and ensure the impartial adjudication of disputes, the fair administration of pay and the sensitisation of Ghanaians to their work.

He said at the end of their four-year tenure, they would be judged by how creditably they executed their functions and educated Ghanaians on their work.

The minister said they had been selected because of their special skills and capacities in human relations, legal and labour matters and said those skills had to be brought to bear on their decisions.

He advised them to use tact and diplomacy in all their actions and not abuse the public trust and confidence reposed in them.

“Let me remind the governing board that it has an enormous task to translate government intentions of ensuring that the Ghanaian worker is better off in reality,” he stated.

He encouraged the members of the two commissions to work in collaboration with the judiciary to handle complaints, while promoting and sensitising employers and employees to their duties and rights under the law.

The Vice-Chairperson of the FWSC, Ms Peggy Addo, said the board would work tirelessly to ensure that the ideals of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) became a reality.

She said the commission would discharge its duties in a fair and prompt manner to ensure value for money and engender productivity in the public sector.

The Chairman of the NLC, Mr Joseph Aryitey, assured the public that the commission would work to ensure industrial peace.

“I am hopeful that at the end of the four years employers and employees will be made more aware of their rights and responsibilities and all work related disputes brought before the governing board will be effectively dealt with,” he said.

He said most industrial disputes were the result of the lack of knowledge of provisions of the Labour Law and the attitude of employers and urged them to show respect in their dealings with employees, since that was a simple ingredient in ensuring harmony.

Mr Aryitey reminded the government that lack of resources was impeding the functions of the NLC. He said, for instance, that the commission was paying GH¢50,000 on rented premises, which was a dissipation of public funds.

He, therefore, urged the government to, as a matter of urgency, find space for the commission to work and save the funds spent on rent.

The oaths of office and secrecy were administered by the minister to the members.

The General Secretary of the Public Utilities Workers Union, Mr Jerry Addo, a representative of organised labour, who represented the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), reiterated the call on the commissions to be adequately resourced to carry out their mandate.