TEWU gives FWSC two weeks to re-open negotiation on premium

The Western Regional branch of the Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU), have called on the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to re-open negotiation to conclude agreement on the payment of critical support premium.

They said the critical support premium was for teaching and learning of teachers and non-teaching staff of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

The call was contained in a resolution adopted at a two-day training workshop for District Council Officers of the TEWU in the Western Region at Apowa near Takoradi on Friday.

Brother Robert Zanutey, Regional Chairman of the Union and Sister Doris Abadoo, President of the Women’s Wing, Brother Anthony Compson and Sister Wilhelmenia Bart-Plange, National Executive Committee members, signed the resolution.

The Union said it was giving the FWSC up to November 16 this year to re-open the negotiation or it will advise itself.

It said the premium was being paid to all teachers and 11 out of 22 grades of non-teaching staff of the GES and this was causing problems.

The Union said the grades that had been left out, contributed significantly to education delivery.

It said FWSC was paying the premium to all teachers in offices doing the work of non-teaching staff.

The Union said this was discriminatory because the non-teaching staff provided the necessary support to make the work of teachers complete.

It said when FWSC asked the union to give justifiable reasons why all grades of non-staffing should benefit from the premium, it did so but the Commission had still not called for the negotiation.

The Union further urged the FWSC to listen to demands of workers of the education sector for a review of the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) in order to resolve distortions relating placement and grades.

It asked the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to approve the operation of the second tier of the National Pension Scheme so that workers could enjoy their benefits when they retire.

The Union added that the government should lift the ban on the recruitment of non-teaching staff of the GES so that vacant positions could be filled.