Second forum on Single Spine Pay Policy ends
Participants in the second national forum on the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP), have called on government appointees, ministers of state and Parliament to desist from interfering with labour disputes and salary negotiations.
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In a communique issued at the end of the forum in Takoradi at the weekend, the participants said negotiations on salaries and conditions of service rather require a collaboration among statutory bodies such as the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), the Public Services Commission, the ministries of Finance and Employment and Labour Relations.
It was jointly signed by the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the President of the Ghana Employers Association, Mr Terrence Darko and the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, Mr Kofi Asamoah.
The forum, which was on the theme: “Sustaining the Single Spine Pay Policy,” was attended by representatives of the government, employers, organised labour and civil society organisations.
It was a follow up to a similar one which was held in Ho in 2014.
The participants were of the view that state institutions such as the National Labour Commission (NLC) or any other alternative dispute resolution centres should be given the opportunity to help in the resolution of labour disputes before resorting to the court of law.
They further asked the government to resource the NLC and the FWSC to train and retain management and trade union leaders in dispute settlement procedures on a regular basis.
The communique also called for an immediate stop to the use of internally generated funds by state institutions for the payment of allowance, without permission from the Finance Ministry.
Payroll reforms
The Communique asked the government to complete the implementation of the E-Zwich system for salary payment to public servants and urged the Finance Ministry and the CAGD to continue the ongoing verification and re-validation of employees who went through the previous biometric exercise.
It underscored the need for the government to review sanctions for payroll offences and make them more punitive.
Linking pay to work
The communique called for a national productivity forum to determine strategies for enhancing productivity in the public service, coupled with the establishment of a robust system to evaluate performance in the public service.
It asked for a review of the performance management document developed by the Public Services Commission,to guide the implementation of the performance management system.
Vice-President
The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, who chaired the forum, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the event and thanked the participants for the deliberations which he said were fruitful.
He assured the participants of the government’s commitment to the outcome of the forum.
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