Single spine salary structure will lead to legal ramifications- Unionist

Wa, June 4, GNA - Mr. David Deribaa, a former Regional Chairman of Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on Thursday stated that the implementation of the single spine salary structure would not only gag the processes of collective bargaining agreements, but would also lead to legal ramifications. He said Ghana Government had ratified International Labour Organization Conventions 87 and 98 which empowered workers to have the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining, and so implementing the single spine salary structure would nullify those rights and render workers powerless to fight for future improvements in conditions of service.

Mr. Deribaa who stated this in a press release said comprehensive job classification, job description and evaluation in the public sector organizations and the issue of marginal productivity of labour could pose serious challenges to the implementation if care was not taken. "The first NDC Government could not implement the recommendations of the PriceWater and Associates due to their failure to carry out a comprehensive job classification, description and job evaluation in all public sector organizations."

The former PWSU chairman said the implementation of single spine salary structure would not be justifiable because as some workers might not merit the salaries and wages they would receive because of low output compared to their colleagues who might be working harder than them and yet taking the same salaries.

"Absenteeism, lateness and other non-productive attitudes in the civil service accounts for low marginal outputs and so it may not be fair for such categories of workers to be taking similar salaries with others who are always on their toes in their various sectors". He therefore appealed to the government to meticulously study the structure to forestall industrial and labour problems in the country.