Organised Labour has thrown its support behind President John Dramani Mahama’s call for an urgent review of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), warning that the current system has left many public sector workers worse off.
According to labour leaders, some workers are earning as little as GHS400 under the policy, while many retirees face inadequate pension benefits due to salary distortions.
They insist the policy has failed and should be either reviewed immediately or completely scrapped.
Leadership of Organised Labour, speaking exclusively to Labour Affairs Correspondent Daniel Opoku in Accra on September 11, blamed the broken pay structure for the rising number of strikes and demonstrations across the country.
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Thomas Musah Tanko said “Let nobody be disadvantaged because the person is in the Ghana Education Service. Let nobody be disadvantaged because the person is in the Ghana Health Service. That’s why the Constitution talks about equal pay for equal value of work done.”
He added that “There are challenges with the Single Spine. People go to the university, do the same course with the same qualification — yet one earns a better salary than the other. On the spine, one is placed on level 18, the other on level 16. Why? We must confront these problems and resolve them.”
In 2021, the government initiated a review of the policy, meeting with Organised Labour to begin consultations. However, four years later, labour leaders say there has been no final report or implementation plan.
President Mahama, during a recent media encounter, acknowledged the failure of the policy, citing wage distortions and discrepancies that have negatively affected workers across the board.
General Secretary of the Public Services Workers’ Union (PSWU), Bernard Adjei, echoed the frustration:
“A lot of public sector workers are unhappy and have been treated unfairly over the past four years due to the spine.”
“People work 30, 40 years, and when you see their pensions, you wonder. No wonder some die after receiving their benefits — all due to the bad nature of the Single Spine Pay Policy.”
General Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), King James Azortibah, described the situation as heartbreaking:
“The most painful part is that a worker who goes on pension has their benefits calculated based on their three best years — and the average salary is GHS400. It’s sad to watch your members go home just to die.”
Push for Independent Emoluments Commission
Organised Labour is now calling for the swift establishment of an Independent Emoluments Commission to address salary disparities and ensure fairness across all public sectors.
Thomas Tanko Musah welcomed the initiative: “If there are systems to improve workers’ salaries, we support them. We want improved conditions of service for workers.”
However, Bernard Adjei criticized the delay in setting up the Commission: “Whatever the National Independent Commission will be, we are waiting to see — but it has taken too long.”
King James Azortibah stressed the urgency of addressing minimum wage issues:
“The Fair Wages Commission is aware that workers are living below the minimum wage. We’re hoping the Emoluments Commission will address these challenges.”
Organised Labour maintains that until decisive action is taken, the living conditions of Ghanaian workers will continue to deteriorate.
