Prof. Ransford Gyampo is a lecturer at the University of Ghana
Salaries of teachers increased by 4% in 2021
Teachers angry about new salary increments
Government seeks to promote harmony at work
Prof Ransford Gyampo has descended on the government over its preference to pay Article 71 holders, benefits of over 70% but keep conditions of service for teachers at only 7%.
He explained that it is unacceptable that, for the people who put public service workers in office to be caretakers, they would rather want to overly make better their own conditions of service at the expense of those who actually own the monies.
The professor therefore called for equity to be exacted in these matters so as to promote industrial harmony, while stating that they will not sit down and allow this to go unchecked.
“Until we strive to achieve some level of equity in the conditions of service of Public Servants and Article 71 Office Holders, there would be no industrial harmony. U cannot give the owner of the money 7% and give the caretaker over 70%. We are not FOOLS,” he wrote on Facebook.
In 2021, the government increased the salaries of public sector workers by 4% and 7% for 2021 and 2022 respectively, however, this has not gone down well with persons who draw their salaries from government coffers.
The President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), King Ali Awudu, argued that the current economic situation has rendered the increment inadequate.
“Though the Unions for the Public Sector Workers through the Public Services Joint Standing Negotiations Committee (PSJSNC) agreed on 4% and 7% base pay increment for 2021 and 2022 respectively, the economic situation in the country as of now has necessitated the call to take a second look at the Base Pay. Since March this year, the conditions of our members (workers) and their purchasing power keep declining as a result of the difficult economic conditions in the country.
“Prices of goods and services are soaring, thus making the 7% base pay increment for next year already moot. In line with this, we call on the government to, as a matter of urgency, invite the leadership of Organised Labour, to sit and negotiate for a Cost Of Living Allowance (COLA) for all public sector workers to ease the pain and suffering from the economic hardship teachers (workers) go through. We request that these negotiations should commence before the end of this year, so it can be completed before the 2023 negotiations begin in the first quarter of 2022,” he stated.
