clogsag must continue with dialogue

The largest grouping of civil and public servants under the umbrella of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has brought government service on its knees.

CLOGSAG has virtually shut down the operations of key government agencies over the last five days. The association on Monday declared a nationwide strike in demand for its unpaid market premium and allowances.

Since the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) by the government, the labour scene has been boiling, with various unions expressing dissatisfaction at the way the policy is being implemented.

It is on record that public sector rewards in the form of wages and salaries have improved considerably. However, the salary administrators, which include employers and the government, appear not to be happy with the huge bill that has made it difficult, especially for the government, to mobilise resources to meet other pressing commitments.

When the government speaks about the apparent suffocating nature of the wage bill in recent times, when in the past it had blown its horn for mustering the courage to implement the policy, many workers wonder whether the SSPP is worth our while or it should be abandoned.

The SSPP is a very complex policy to implement but critical to improve compensation in the public sector.

From the time of commencement of the policy, many public sector workers in health, education and others have embarked on industrial actions to back their demands for the payment of arrears and market premium or be migrated onto the policy.

The truth is bitter but the crux of our predicament is the fact that productivity is not matching our demand for better conditions of service.

The Daily Graphic recalls plans in the past by successive governments to engage all stakeholders in a forum to come up with strategies to pay wages that will take workers home. The planned debate on a living wage is still on the drawing board.

The government organised a forum in Ho recently to deliberate on the SSPP and the participants came up with a road map to deal with the concerns raised by the beneficiaries.

We have said time and again that dialogue holds the key to the resolution of any dispute, including those involving labour unions.

The Daily Graphic, therefore, calls on the CLOGSAG to return to the negotiation table with its employer to resolve all the outstanding issues amicably.

The option of strike is objectionable, as it has the potential to derail the programme of the government to build a better society.

We reiterate that the adoption of entrenched positions to iron out all the outstanding issues will not promote social dialogue, cohesion and harmony.

We must bear in mind that the loss of revenue to the state as a result of the strike will hurt all of us, as the government will not be able to raise the revenue to carry out the provision of health and educational facilities, good roads and improved living standards in the country.

Daily Graphic/Ghana