Personnel of Immigration Service not happy with SSSS

Accra, Sept 23, GNA - Members of the Ghana Immigration Service

(GIS) are not very much enthused at the salary disparities that exist


between them and their counterparts in the Police Service under the


Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS). Consequently, Management and Regional Commanders of the GIS on


Thursday met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and


Salaries Commission (FWSC) in Accra to discuss their grievances and


how its personnel could be placed on a level commensurate with their


job classifications. A statement released after the meeting and signed by Mrs.


Elizabeth Adjei, Director of GIS, said: "Over the years, the mandate of


the Service has expanded to make it the lead agency in Border


Management through the deployment of the Border Patrol Unit along

the nation's frontiers". The statement said: "The Service has further been assigned the


responsibility of vetting applications for, as well as issuing and


renewing the work permits of foreigners, a task that was formerly the


preserve of the Ministry of Interior". Management and Regional Commanders of the GIS therefore, put


forward 10 points for the consideration of the FWSC to correct the


anomaly that exists in the salaries of personnel of the Service. These include; i: "That the issue of allowances needed to be


addressed in a manner devoid of ambiguities and acrimony". ii: "That after the promulgation of PNDC Law 226 in 1989, the GIS


adopted a rank structure that is analogous with that of other security


services. Entry into the Service was also made equivalent to that of the all the security services were placed on salary ranges commensuratewith their analogous ranks", iii: "That prior to SSSS, certain allowances in category one, whichwere enjoyed by other sister security services such as Operational,Kilometric, Clothing, Batman and frontier allowances were not enjoyed


by the GIS. It was our expectation that with the SSSS, the anomaly

would have been corrected before any negotiation on the SSSS


allowances began", iv: "That the GIS is also mindful of the fact that its functions differ


from other security services and are therefore, of the view that a


re-evaluation of jobs is not an option, since it has the tendency of


drawing the whole process backwards", v: "That the issues being raised by GIS could be resolved", vi: "As a security service, we are not strike oriented and therefore,


we believe it would be in our mutual interest that government steps in


and makes a case for the GIS and other security services for that


matter", vii: "It was also noted that at the time of the evaluation, the Border


Patrol Unit had not started its operations and the likely effect of a low


evaluation based on its non-existence cannot be ruled out", viii: "It also needs to be stated that of all the sister security

services, GIS has been low on allowances even though our basic


function of ensuring national security are the same", viiii: "The GIS is the only security service that generates significant revenue through the levying of fees for visas and other consular duties.


In 2009, the GIS raised over GHc10 million as revenue through its


operations nationwide. Mid-year figures for 2010 have already


exceeded estimates, and it is expected that annual estimates will be


exceeded by about 40 per cent. The combination of roles to include


security and revenue generation must be recognized and amply


rewarded by the state, as this is unique to the operations of the GIS." v: "The GIS is a joint stakeholder in national assignments of a


security nature, including providing security cover during elections,


peacekeeping operations in conflict areas, anti-smuggling operations

and other national assignments. Currently, the Service has a


detachment of troops in the Bawku area, and has contributed personnel


to joint anti-cocoa smuggling operations in the Western Region. The


Service's role in combating the ravages of Fulani Herdsmen and their


cattle cannot be overemphasized". Mr. Smith Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, assured the


Management and Regional Commanders of the GIS that the


Commission would study the issues and appropriately address them. Mr. Graham mentioned rankings of the personnel and said that there


was the need to level it up with what pertained in other security


agencies.