Organised labour cry over Single Spine Salary Structure

Organised labour has observed that the road map for the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) is four months behind schedule, but the government says the plan is on course.

Reacting to the concerns of labour over the perceived delay, the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Stephen Amoanor Kwao, insisted that the government's programme to ensure the implementation of the salary structure by January 2010 was on course.

An earlier letter from organised labour, signed by Mrs Irene Duncan-Adanusa, the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), had claimed that the issue was four months behind schedule and described the situation as regrettable, especially since the 2010 budget statement would be read this month.

The letter said, "Organised labour observes that till October 2009 •the expected White Paper has not been issued to enable the other processes to begin: the road map is therefore behind schedule for four months. This situation is regrettable, viewed against the backdrop that the National Budget for 2010 will be read in November, 2009."

It indicated that the agreed implementation date of 2010 for the SSSS was not negotiable and demanded that the government set in motion all activities and actions stipulated in the road map within the remaining time frame.

"No extension of time will be entertained," the letter warned.

In his reaction, Mr Kwao conceded that there had been delays but attributed them to the importance of the SSSS and the care and attention needed to ensure the implementation of a national employment pay policy to the satisfaction of all parties.

He disputed claims that international financial institutions such as the World Bank were against the implementation of the SSSS because of its impact on the economy.

"We have had meetings with them and briefed them on the status of the SSSS and they were satisfied," Mr Kwao said of the country's multilateral partners.

He told the Daily Graphic in Accra that a technical sub-committee of Cabinet had been set up to ensure that the implementation of the SSSS was consistent with the government's fiscal and economic policies.

The committee, headed by the Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffour, is also expected to examine the implications of a national employment pay policy on the economy.

The committee is also considering a memorandum from the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare advising the government on the SSSS before the issuance of a White Paper on the implementation.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Mr George Smith-Graham, for his part said the commission was working behind the scenes to cover all grounds that needed to be covered before the White Paper was issued by government.

For instance, meetings had been held with various labour groups that had grievances with the SSSS to resolve them.

Moreover, a series of meetings between the FWSC and human resource managers of public sector organisations had been held, with some still ongoing, to ensure that all rankings, levels of salaries and allowances were rightly captured.

"The exercise is tedious and we all misunderstood the enormity of work involved to get this national employment pay policy implemented," Mr Smith-Graham said, but gave the assurance that despite all that the FWSC was performing its role to ensure its implementation.

In a related development, members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in the Brong Ahafo Region have threatened to disturb what they termed "the labour front," if the government failed to implement the SSSS by January 2010.

They stressed that the date which had been agreed upon by stakeholders at a three-day consultative workshop held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, should not be changed.

According to the teachers, at the consultative workshop held from May 27 to 29 this year, the road map for the implementation of the single spine policy had been agreed upon but the government had failed to honour its part of the bargain regarding item one.

Item one of the road map states that "between July and August, this year, government should consider a Cabinet memo on the Single Spine Pay Policy and issue a White Paper on the implementation. Furthermore, education on the new pay policy should be carried out".

But the Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary of GNAT, Mr Kwaku Asante Nketiah, on behalf of his colleagues, told the Daily Graphic that the failure of the government to follow the road map to the letter, starting from item one, had created doubts in the minds of teachers in respect of government's commitment to what was agreed upon in May.

He indicated that the teachers in the region were on the neck of the executive members of the association for the assurance that the government would implement the SSSS, come January 2010.

He said the government's inability to respect the first provision of the road map had created anxiety among teachers, who were questioning the sincerity of the government as, well as GNAT officials who assured them that the government would deliver on its promise.

Mr Asante-Nketiah said it had been observed that by October this year the expected White Paper had not been issued to enable the other processes to begin.

He said teachers in the region considered the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy in January 2010 as something that could not be negotiated and would do all within their power to ensure its implementation.

He said as a matter of principle, the government must ensure that the road map was implemented within the remaining time frame, adding that no extension of time would be entertained.

Mr Asante-Nketiah expressed the hope that the government would do what was required to ensure industrial peace and economic growth.