WAR IN SECURITY SERVICES

Elizabeth Adjei, Ghana Immigration Service (left), Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, IGP (right)

BARELY TWO months into the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), some detectives at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, are up in arms against the Police Administration, over certain deductions in their salaries.

In the corridors of the CID Headquarters in Accra on Tuesday, some of these detectives were spotted murmuring among themselves over the issue, and were in a dilemma as to whether the introduction of the SSSS was a 'blessing or a curse.'

Their bone of contention was that with the implementation of the SSSS, their morale was boosted, and they were even working assiduously to redeem the sinking image of the service, but have suddenly been demoralised by the recent announcement that the administration had slashed down their salaries.

However, a probe into their grievances revealed that the clothing allowance of personnel at the CID had been slashed by 20 per cent.

Sources say junior detective officers in the CID are the worst affected, since their salaries had drastically been reduced to almost what they were previously earning.

A recent meeting held at the Police CID Headquarters in Accra to officially announce the decision, according to sources, was greeted with misgivings by the junior detective ranks, who complained of unfair treatment by the administration.

The said meeting, The Chronicle learnt, ended abruptly, due to pertinent issues raised by the junior detective officers.

The sources further indicated that with the coming into force of the SSSS in July this year, clothing allowance for detective officers at the CID was increased by 30 per cent.

For instance, a CID Constable, who then earned GH¢126, is now earning GH¢180 after the introduction of the SSSS.

The sources continued that the increment in the clothing allowance witnessed a sharp rise in the salaries of the detectives than their colleagues in other departments of the Ghana Police Service.

This means, a police detective constable with the CID earns more than a Lance Corporal in other departments.

However, further checks revealed that should the said 30 per cent increment remain, the Director-General of CID's take home pay would be more than that of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), since it has been infused into their salaries, hence, the directive to slash the amount to conform to best practices in the Service.

Per the dictates of the Fair Wages Commission, no junior officer should earn more than a senior officer, and therefore, having identified this discrepancy in the clothing allowance, the police administration decided to cut down the amount by 20 per cent.

This means that detectives from the ranks of a Constable would now receive GH¢144 for their clothing allowance.

The directive, our sources said, cuts across all ranks in the CID.

However, some junior officers, who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity, argued that their counterparts at the Police Depot, Hospitals and Peace Keeping, earn an additional 50 per cent increment in allowance, and therefore, advocated a five per cent slash in their clothing allowance because of the high market prices.

The issue, The Chronicle learnt, had resulted in the delay of pay slips for the detectives, whilst their counterparts from other departments had received and were enjoying theirs.

'We don't know when they will release our pay slips to us to determine if indeed the directive has taken effect, and how much has been deducted,' said one detective officer, who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity.

He told The Chronicle that they were also in a dilemma as to whether the directive was coming from the government, or it was the sole decision of the police administration.

The description of the demeanor of the  personnel of the Ghana Police Service in July this year, after receiving their pay slips, could not have been described any better by the Inspector-General of Police, Paul Tawiah Quaye, when he interacted with members of the Implementation Committee of the SSSS, at the Police headquarters in Accra recently.

“Personnel of the Police Service have been astounded by their pay-slips for July 2010. Most are still coming to terms as to whether it is a one-off event, a mistake by the payroll office, or a real commitment by government to implement a salary regime that adequately compensates them for their efforts,” he said.

Meanwhile, when The Chronicle contacted the Acting Director-General of the CID, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Prosper Kwame Agblor, over the issue, he said he was not in a position to talk on the matter.

Immigration Service
Whilst the police are generally satisfied with their new salary, reports reaching The Chronicle indicate that there is an uneasy calm among some personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), who are displeased at what they term vast differences between the salaries of the Police Service and that of the Immigration Service, under the SSSS.

The agitations of the personnel are that, for example, a Deputy Superintendent in the Immigration Service currently, earns GH ¢803 as gross, while the Police Service counterpart earns GH¢ 1,800 as net salary.

In effect, the salary of a Deputy Superintendent in the Ghana Immigration Service – GH¢ 803 – is just a little higher than that of a Constable in the Police Service, who currently earns GH¢720 as net.

But the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Mrs. Elizabeth Adjei, says the agitations are not only unfounded, but baseless, since personnel of the Immigration Service had as yet not been paid under the new salary structure.

Explaining issues to The Chronicle yesterday, Mrs. Elizabeth Adjei noted that there were general agitations in the whole of the security services, after it might have arisen as a result of the unique nature of the pay roll management of the Ghana Police Service, which enables the service to process its own salaries, unlike with the other security services which are done by the Controller and Accountant General.

As a result, she noted that her outfit organised two durbars to sensitise personnel of the Immigration Service on the SSSS, the new pension Act, and the need for personnel of the service to exercise restraint, as the migration from the previous pay structure - Ghana Universal Salary Structure - would require some time for proper mapping to be done, before they are put on board the SSSS.

She contended however, that even in the past, personnel of the Police Service had received allowances which other security services did not enjoy.

She hinted that the Financial Controller at the GIS, at the moment, has three versions of the pay structure for the service, one being their own projections, and the other two from the fair wages Commission.

'The police have been paid, so it is actual. Officially, we want to wait to see what we are also going to get, in terms of hard cash,' she noted.

She was however, not certain as to when personnel of the Immigration Service would be paid their first salaries under the new structure, but gave the assurance that they would be entitled to back pay, however long it tarries.

'Because payment is done by the Accountant General, it is unclear when the pay hits the bank accounts,' she said.

She was however, optimistic that given the idea they had about what they might be taking, personnel of the service would generally be satisfied.

She however, appealed to personnel of the service to seek clarifications on issues concerning the new pay structure from the vast channels available to them in the service.