Unproductive government workers to be sacked soon - FWSC

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSG) has given notice it will soon start a government sector job rationalization as part of the ‘Linking Pay to Productivity’ exercise.

The aggressive program by government is not only to attract the best brains into the public sector but also remunerate works properly.

The move will lead to government checking its wage bill which currently absorbs about 50 percent of revenues collected.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FWSG, Dr. Edward Kwapong told Starr Business’ Osei Owusu Amankwaah that the commission will embark on a sensitization drive with all major stakeholders soon.

The Public Sector Performance Management System will be the yardstick during the exercise.

“Anytime you carry out performance management, the ultimate is to reward; and when you are rewarding performance, you want to link the reward to the performance and that is what we simply put as ‘Linking Pay to Productivity’. Because the whole purpose of performance management is to ensure that the employees give off their best in terms of performance. We give them the resources, we give the target and they work towards those targets. Once they meet those targets we have a legal and moral obligation to reward them,” Dr. Kwapong said.

He added that the commission wants the process to be more scientific, therefore there will be a fine-tuning of the public sector Performance Management System designed by the Public Services Commission.

The system will be rolled out across the country after the amendment.

“At the end of the performance management process the end process is the level of performance and we want to find a scientific way of linking pay or the reward with the level of performance. So it is not like the socialist system where everybody gets the same amount regardless.”

“Now if you are an excellent performer we will give you so much increment and if possible if we are able to introduce a concept of bonus or a thirteenth-month pay, the quantum you will get will be dependent on your level of performance. So from excellent, above average, average, below average, unacceptable. For each, there will be a corresponding reward figure,” Dr. Kwapong explained

He further urged government workers to upgrade their skills in order to be relevant to their institution or go into entrepreneurial venture if their services are not needed.