GES takes steps to rectify anomalies in salaries
The Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (C&AG) have taken steps to rectify anomalies detected in the staff salaries.
A statement issued in Accra on Thursday said to ensure that no individual staff was unfairly treated, the errors for about 19,180 Superintendent 1 (One) teachers who were wrongly placed on level 13 low instead of level 13 high had been corrected.
About 12,000 professional teachers who qualified for the professional allowance but did not enjoy their allowance have been identified and would be paid for the period they were not paid.
It said some categories of personnel who performed additional duties were to be identified to facilitate their proper placement on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
Those for teaching personnel are Heads of Senior High Schools and Technical Institutes, Heads of basic schools, Senior Housemasters and Housemistresses, Housemasters and Housemistresses.
The others are, Form Master and Form Mistresses, Heads of Departments, School Chaplains and Imams, Guidance and Counselling Co-ordinators in Senior High Schools and technical institutes.
The non-teaching professionals to be identified for their proper placement are, Principal Accountants (Chartered) and Principal Accountants who head sections and units.
The statement said a few personnel were inadvertently put on higher levels other than their appropriate levels and the corrections have been made and they would lose the difference.
“The affected staff will have to pay the difference to Controller and Accountant General’s Department or the difference will be deducted at source by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, “it added.
The statement said a technical committee has been set up to undertake further checks on the payroll cleaning process to confirm the changes and ensure that the corrections were appropriately effected as required under the SSSS.
It said all queries, enquiries and suggestions were to be channelled through the Director of Human Resource Management Department of the GES on 0276-861020 for consideration by the technical committee.
The statement said a roadmap for the consideration of categories 2 and 3 allowances which might include those proposed by the Unions, Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers and Teachers and Education Workers Union would commence with negotiations on March 25 and ensure that all parties were represented.
The GES Management said considering the amount of work involved in rectifying the errors identified in the implementation of the SSSS, the 15 per cent Teacher Retention Premium agreed to be paid with effect from March 11, 2011 might come with arrears.
It said this was to ensure a clean payroll data base for March 2011 salaries, devoid of any discrepancies.
The GES management urged all personnel to exercise restraint while efforts were made to rectify all errors to create opportunity for better negotiation of the category 2 and 3 allowances due the personnel.
It recognised the immense contribution of teachers and other personnel in the provision of quality education for all Ghanaian children.
“We therefore, entreat the full co-operation of all personnel to enable the Government put in place a credible and sustainable salary regime that would take into account the value of the teaching profession and service,“ it added.
Source: GNA