Wage bill is still a headache
It noted that Ghana’s wage bill rose by 47 per cent in 2012, following the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) for public sector workers, as well as costly energy subsidies and high interest rates, pushing Ghana’s fiscal deficit to about 12 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year.
The IMF, subsequently, called for an audit of the 2012 payroll.
The warning came at a time organised labour was negotiating for better conditions and market-related premiums for various member unions in the public service.
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Last Monday, organised labour held a press conference to sound the alarm over the protracted delay in base-pay negotiations with the government. It argued that almost seven months into the year, there was no end in sight to the negotiations and accused the government of deliberately delaying the process by “adopting a hard-line position that does not accord with good faith negotiations”.
We have all been witnesses to the impact industrial actions by various trade unions — teachers, doctors and pharmacists — have had on the economy in recent times and none of us would want to go through such an experience again.
But we are also aware of the fact that the economy has generally witnessed slow growth, with some arguing that the country is broke.
It is in this vein that the Daily Graphic urges organised labour and the government to continue along the path of dialogue and negotiations to avoid any further disturbance on the labour front and a dislocation in the national economy.
It may not be the desire of the government to adopt delay tactics with the negotiations, since it may not want to commit itself to agreements it cannot implement.
As of now, we know there are still outstanding issues the government has to resolve with doctors, pharmacists and teachers, including university lecturers.
That is where we believe the government must be forthcoming with information on the challenges it is facing in meeting the demands of trade unions. That way, there will be goodwill from all the partners in the negotiations.
The Daily Graphic also thinks the government must take a bold decision in addressing the concerns of organised labour regarding public officers classified under Article 71 of the Constitution.
Very often, when there appears to be no money in the kitty, that is when large sums of money are released to the few public officers under Article 71, either as salaries or ex gratia. According to organised labour, all the incentives doled out to those under Article 71 balloon the public wage bill.
The Daily Graphic thinks there must be a review of the salary structure of persons classified under Article 71 of the Constitution to ensure that it falls in tandem with the general spirit of public sector wages.
In reviewing it, room could be created for adequate compensation to be paid to those who might lose their jobs before the tenure of an administration.
For now, we call on organised labour and the government to go back to the negotiation table and not give room for any strikes.
Daily Graphic/Ghana
