President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to review the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and the pensions regime as part of government efforts to address concerns raised by public sector workers.
The President pledged while addressing the opening of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) 54th National Delegates’ Congress and Seventh Quadrennial Conference in Accra, held under the theme: “Education and Development: The Ghana Education Service (GES) at 50 — Reflecting, Reviewing, Revising, and Growing the Profession and the Unions.”
The Single Spine Salary Structure is a public sector pay policy designed to standardise wages to promote fairness and transparency by placing jobs on a unified salary scale.
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The policy was introduced under the Kufuor administration, but negotiations were not concluded before Professor John Evans Atta Mills won the 2008 general election, with Mr Mahama serving as Vice President.
President Mahama said the outgoing Kufuor administration implemented a lump-sum salary increment and introduced the Single Spine without completing negotiations.
However, he said organised labour, led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), rejected the approach and opted to renegotiate the policy with the incoming government.
“As a result, it took some time for the negotiations to be completed. Eventually, we arrived at a structure that worked. It was not exactly straight — it was a bit crooked — but at least everybody benefited,” the President said.
He noted that government subsequently paid salary arrears and managed to stabilise the system before leaving office in 2016.
“Since then, several things have happened. The spine has become very crooked, and everybody is unhappy. Everybody is unhappy with the spine,” he added.
President Mahama said the TUC had again raised concerns about the Single Spine Salary Structure and requested a comprehensive review of the pay system.
He reiterated the government’s willingness to undertake the review to improve remuneration, which he said would enable workers to give of their best in the discharge of their duties.
On pensions, the President recalled that a comprehensive pension reform was undertaken some years ago, introducing the Tier 2 and Tier 3 schemes, which initially received broad support.
“However, it appears the time has come for us to look at it again,” he said, adding that the issue had also been raised by the TUC.
President Mahama said he had informed the TUC Secretary-General, Mr Joshua Ansah, and his team that government was prepared to establish a working group to review the entire pension system and make recommendations aimed at improving retirement security for workers.
In his welcome address, the National President of GNAT, Reverend Isaac Owusu, appealed to the President to initiate an immediate review of the Single Spine Salary Structure within the year to align it with the government’s Resetting Agenda.
“We are resetting Ghana, and the pay policy must reflect that Resetting Agenda. It is essential that we advocate improved salaries and benefits that recognise the critical role teachers play in shaping our society,” he stated.
“A well-motivated teacher, Your Excellency, is more productive, and this directly translates into better learning outcomes for our students.”
GNA