Workers of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, who are mandated to work on fair wages for public sector workers, are on a sit-down strike to demand placement on the Single Spine Salary Structure.
They also want to be involved in the migration process onto the salary structure.
The Constitutional Review Commission recommended that salaries and conditions of service for the staff at the Commission be determined by Parliament to avoid any conflict of interest.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has successfully migrated close to 98 percent of all public sector workers on the pay policy despite its challenges.
However, since 2010, the Commission has failed to migrate its staff onto the policy to benefit from increases made every year.
Between 2017 and 2018 alone, salaries were increased more than ten percent for those on the policy but staff of the Fair Wages did not benefit.
For instance in 2015, when government introduced the cost of living allowance ‘COLA’ for public sector workers, none from Fair Wages benefited.
The situation, they complained, has affected their meager earnings. They said they have consistently complained but have not received any fair hearing.
Currently, they have withdrawn their services, while demanding immediate migration onto the policy.
Emmanuel Nutsugah who is the spokesperson for the staff told TV3’s Daniel Opoku, “if we negotiate 10 percent for everyone else, we get 7 percent, if we negotiate 12.5 percent we get 10 percent and it’s been ongoing.
“This year, we have negotiated for 10 percent, which means that if we do not migrate onto the single spine salary structure, chances are that we may get a reduced percentage.”
He insisted, they will not rescind their decision and return to work until their concerns are addressed.
But the Chief Executive of the Commission said he has referred the matter to the board for resolution.
He told TV3 the board met the staff on Thursday, noting they are committed to improving their working condition.
He has therefore called for suspension of the strike for negotiations to resume.
Meanwhile, the matter has since been tabled before the Chief Executive Officer of State Enterprises Commission, Stephen Asamoah Boateng for resolution.
Source: 3news.com | Ghana]]>
