‘Workers can’t hold public to ransom while negotiating salaries’
The Chief Executive of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Mr George Smith-Graham, says workers are bound by the law not to hold the public to ransom once negotiations on their conditions of service have not stalled or failed.
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In an interview with the Daily Graphic last Wednesday after the commission had begun negotiations with public sector workers on their categories two and three allowances, he said it was incumbent on the employer and the employee to respect the law, which was a key part of negotiations on salaries and conditions of service.
Allowances
Category two allowances relate to special conditions that arise from time to time in one's job, for which some compensation is required, while category three allowances are staff welfare or job-related.
The FWSC has been meeting with doctors in negotiations on these allowances and has, since June this year, held four meetings with the doctors.
Mr Smith-Graham said negotiations for salaries and conditions of service were characterised by proposals, counter- proposals, compromises and trade-offs.
He, therefore, urged public sector workers to be mindful of some best practices in the labour law that required that parties refrained from giving ultimatums during negotiations.
Section 127 subsections (3) and (4) of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) enjoin parties in employment relationships to negotiate in an atmosphere of peace without threat or intimidation.
Negotiations
Mr Smith-Graham further explained that negotiations on categories two and three allowances were being done within the ambit of the Public Services Joint Standing Negotiating Committee (PSJSNC).
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The PSJSNC is the joint standing negotiating committee created in accordance with Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution, which brings together the FWSC, representing the government, and labour unions, representing public sector workers.
The chief executive said category two and three allowances had been further classified into general or core allowances and specific allowances.
General or core allowances relate to allowances that cut across service classifications in the public service, while specific allowances relate to allowances given for specific services.
He said general or core allowances were to be negotiated within the PSJSNC, while special allowances were to be negotiated within service classifications, in accordance with guidelines set by the PSJSNC.
He appealed to all to abide by the rules and guidelines established by the parties themselves within the ambit of the PSJSNC to get the negotiations concluded soon.
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