TUC to Gov't: Make payroll offenses more punitive

Government has been charged to review sanctions for payroll offences and make them more punitive.

The proposal was contained in a 41-point communiqué issued at the end of the Second National Forum on the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) held in Takoradi recently.

It was jointly signed by the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon Haruna Iddrisu; President of the Ghana Employer's Association, Mr Terrence Darko, and the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah.

The communiqué urged the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Controller and Accountant-General's Department (CAGD) to integrate the payroll system with biometric database and continue with the ongoing verification and re-validation of employee's biometric programmes in collaboration with Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

It also proposed that a National Productivity Forum be organised to determine strategies for increasing productivity and institute capacity building measures in the public service.

Besides, it cautioned that no private negotiations should be made in any organisation without a written consent from the Public Services Commission (PSC) and Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC).

The communiqué noted that a well coordinated negotiation between management and unions for the payment of non-core allowances by the Ministry of Finance and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission would ensure harmonised standards within budget constraints.

Furthermore, it asked government to speed up the implementation of the E-zwich system and the E-SPV for the payment of salaries of public servants on Government payroll and the implementation of Market Premium (MP) to attract and retain the needed critical skills in short supply.

In addition to the National Labour Commission, the communiqué proposed that Alternative Dispute Resolution Centres be granted the mandate to handle labour disputes.