Ghana hints restructuring public salary policy
The Ghana Government has directed the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to review and streamline challenges in the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), to avoid discrepancies.
President John Dramani Mahama, who issued the instruction, also asked organized labour to consider government as partners, by effectively collaborating in various ways with authorities to eliminate differences that result in industrial actions.
The President was addressing workers at Essipong in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis on Wednesday, as part of this year’s workers’ day celebration on the theme: “Pension; It is your right and your responsibility”.
He assured workers that government was committed to resolving the current industrial unrest in the country, adding that while government was reviewing the deficiencies, it was also the responsibility of organized labour unions to perform their duties, while their leaders led in the dialogue and negotiation in order not to reduce productivity.
President Mahama said his administration would give adequate impetus to the strengthening of social protection for workers and social groups.
“That is the main reason why government is restructuring and re-aligning the Gender Ministry to make it meaningful for all kinds of persons in the country to benefit from the social protection programme in the country,” the President said.
On inequality of salaries, particularly among the private sector employers, President Mahama said government would scrutinize and regularize their remunerations to be covered by the three-tier pension scheme for past Ghanaian workers.
He said that although there were challenges in the labour front, government was doing everything possible to surmount them, and urged organized labour to reciprocate the gesture by working hard to eliminate all negative tendencies that undermine peace and unity.
Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress, appealed to government to create a one-stop-labour centre that would solve grievances and provide sufficient solutions to challenges in the labour front.
He proposed to government to institute basic income grant for all old people who are 60 years and above and not on pension.
Mr Asamoah said: “We further propose that the basic income grant should at least be equal to the inflation-adjusted nutrition-based national poverty line and should be increased on a regular basis in line with increases in cost of living.”
He said it was unfortunate that Ghanaian workers were receiving below Ghc 150.00 per month, and called on government to tackle salary and wages challenges, to avoid industrial actions and chaos in the labour front.
The May Day celebrations, were instituted centuries ago by the Communists to honour workers, but were later countered by the establishment of the St. Joseph the Worker’s day by the Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pius XII in 1955.
In Ghana, various workers’ unions decide on the national celebration in a particular region, while the regional celebrations are held concurrently throughout the country to honour members, who had over the previous year distinguished themselves in their areas of operation.
Source: GNA