SSSS

BY

JUNE, 2011

DECLARATION

ABSTRACT

II

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

DEDICATION

III

TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION..............................................................................................................I ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGMENT................................................................................................... III DEDICATION............................................................................................................... III TABLE OF CONTENT................................................................................................... IV CHAPTER ONE............................................................................................................. 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 1.2 Background of the Study....................................................................................4 1.3 Problem Statement............................................................................................6 1.4 Purpose and Significance of the Study................................................................8 1.5 Research Objective............................................................................................8 1.6 Research Question.............................................................................................9 1.7 Scope of the Study ..........................................................................................10 1.8 Limitations of the Study...................................................................................10 1.9 Organization of the Study.................................................................................11 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................11 2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................11 2.2 Meaning/Definition of Single Spine Pay Policy...................................................13 2.3 Past Attempts at Public Service Pay Reform ....................................................15 2.4 The Ghana Universal Salary Structure..............................................................15 2.5 The New Public Service Pay Policy ...................................................................15 2.6 Objectives of the New Pay Policy......................................................................18 2.9.2 The Single Spine Salary Structure..............................................................21 2.9.3 Coverage of the Policy................................................................................21 IV

2.9.4 Establishment of a Legal Body...................................................................21 2.10 Negotiations with Government have noted the need for negotiations with respect to;.............................................................................................................. 23 2.10.1 Allowances and Remuneration.................................................................24 2.10.2 Sustainability of the Pay Policy.................................................................25 2.11 Threat to Democracy .....................................................................................25 2.11.2 Job Performance Scheme to Be Executed Under SSSS in April 21, 2011. . .37 2.11.3 How to Make SSSS a Blessing...................................................................43 CHAPTER THREE........................................................................................................46 3.0 METHODOLOGY................................................................................................47 3.1 Introduction of the study Organization.............................................................47 3.2 Research Design..............................................................................................47 3.3 Data Type and Sources ...................................................................................47 3.4 Population of the Study....................................................................................47 3.5 Sample and Sampling Procedures....................................................................47 3.6 Administration of the Instruments....................................................................47 3.7 Method of Data Analysis...................................................................................47 3.8 Data Gathering Problems.................................................................................47 CHAPTER FOUR......................................................................................................... 47 4.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSES..............................................................47 4.1 Introduction......................................................................................................47 4.2.1 Gender of Respondents.................................................................................47 4.2.2 Educational Background of Respondents.......................................................47 4.2.3 Occupational Status of Respondents.............................................................47 4.2.4 Marital Status of Respondents.......................................................................47 4.2.5 Length of Service of Respondents.................................................................47 CHAPTER FIVE........................................................................................................... 47 V

5.0 CONCLUTION, SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION...........................................47 5.1 Introduction......................................................................................................47 5.2 Summary of the findings..................................................................................47 5.3 Conclusion........................................................................................................47 REFERENCES............................................................................................................. 48 APPENDIX.................................................................................................................. 50

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CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Compensation management is the extremely most important piece of the overall Human Resource Strategy which helps in keeping competition and success in both public and private sectors of every nations economy. On the other hand, it helps to keep personnel budget under control and to manage jobs effectively. Government has issued a White Paper on the Single Spine Pay Policy following the approval by President John Evans Atta Mills. It confirms government's promise to commence the implementation of the policy from January 2010. Single spine salary structure (SSSS) refers to having a distinct pay plan whereby employees in the same pay scale are paid equally. Every job has been valued and put on a point for instance from one (1) to three hundred (300) and given equal weight and placing them at the same point. The ultimate goal for the SSSS is to ensure equity, fairness, and transparency as well as enhance performance and productivity. SSSS among other salary structures is unique for its approach and its ultimate goal which is in line with global labor laws as mentioned above. In Ghana, it is in conformity with Article 24(1), chapter five (5) of the 1992 constitution which states that, Every person has the right to work under satisfactory, safe, and healthy conditions, and shall receive equal pay for equal work without distinction of any kind. Likewise, section 68 of the Labour Act, 2003(Act 651) also states that, Every worker shall receive equal pay for equal work without distinction of any kind.

In view of the above and other merits, the government of Ghana deemed the SSSS a panacea to improving the conditions of service in the Ghanaian public service through ensuring equity, fairness, and transparency in the public service pay administration. The Ghana public service as defined by Article 190(1), chapter fourteen (14) of the 1992 constitution includes: (a) the Civil Service, the Judicial Service, the Audit Service, the Education Service, the Prisons Service, the Parliamentary Service, the Health Service, the Statistical Service, the National Fire Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Police Service, the Immigration Service; and the Legal Service; (a) Public corporations other than those set up as commercial ventures; (b) Public services established by this Constitution; and (c) Such other public services as Parliament may by law prescribe. This major service sector of the country has over the years been plagued by agitations and strikes by some workers as a result of salary distortions in the then Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) which was posing immense threat to the countrys industrial harmony. In 2006, the Government of Ghana, in its determination to improve public service pay and performance, began this comprehensive grading and pay reform initiative to address perceived and real inequities across the various institutions in the public service. The objective was to:

Develop a pay regime that would provide for fair and transparent job and pay equity

Include all public sector employees Develop a pay structure that could be implemented over the medium term and would attract the requisite skills and competencies to the public sector.

To ensure the success of this current reform SSSS, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) was established into law in 2007 and were tasked with this responsibility and the outcome of its successful implementation will include:

Placing all public sector employees on one vertical structure Ensure that jobs within the same value range are paid within the same pay range (i.e. equal pay for equal work).

Allow government the ability to manage the wage bill more efficiently Ensure compliance and incase of monitory the pay structure of self accounting institutions

Also, the SSSS chosen by government is a courageous effort at eliminating disparities and inequalities in the public service and this will among other benefits enable government attract and retain highly skilled staff in the public service ensuing in increase in productivity.

Indications are that, the SSSS will be implemented over a five (5) year period effective from January 1, 2010. First payment of the SSSS is expected to be in July 2010 and the Ghana police

service whose living conditions have been described in the past as abysmal interestingly were the first to be announced in the country. It is worth noting that, the Ghana Police have successfully undergone the implementation stage of the new salary scheme and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, stated that, it is without any reservation, that personnel of the Service have been astonished by their pay-slips for July 2010 and that most of them are yet to come to terms with the change wondering whether it was a one-off event, a mistake by the Payroll Office, or a commitment by the Government to implement a salary regime that adequately compensates them for their efforts. He again added that, this gesture as a policy has come to right the wrongs of the past, with respect to salary discrepancies in the public sector. With this significant success story, this work managed to ascertain how the SSSS is serving as a panacea to improving the conditions of service in the Ghanaian Public Service using the case of the Ghana Police service. The Public Service in no uncertain terms deserves equitable and fair remuneration alongside peaceful industrial environment for productive work. Nevertheless, it is an inevitable fact that, there is no perfect system but what makes a system near perfect is when there are ancillary measures instituted to take care of unforeseen shortcomings of the system which the FWSC is mandated to do.

1.2 Background of the Study The idea of the SSSS was developed in 2006, after several negotiations among various workers union in the country. Prior to the SSSS, Ghana had undergone several pay reforms from the early 1970s until 1997 to ensure that the Public Service was able to attract, retain, adequately motivate

its personnel and build the requisite human resource capabilities to improved service delivery. Most of the challenges within the public service such as poor performance, lack of professionalism and corruption are largely due to low compensation levels and ineffective pay administration in the public service. The need for a comprehensive approach to address these challenges was therefore inevitable. Over the years, salary reviews have been undertaken by governments with the ultimate goal of improving conditions of service in the public service. Among the major steps taken in the past includes; review by commissions and committees such as Mills-Odoi (1967), Issifu Ali (1973), Justice Azu-Crabbe (1979-1983), and Gyampoh (1992-1993). Afterwards a comprehensive twentytwo (22)-level GUSS was introduced in 1999 to deal with salary inequities and distortions. The Universal objective underpinning the GUSS however could not be realized particularly when it was made optional to some sections of the public service that could opt out without any sanctions being applied. In addition, inadequate resources and lack of legal instruments backing the Central Management Board and other appellate bodies responsible for its successful implementation accounts for the failure of the GUSS. The motivation for introducing the SSSS has therefore been proposed against the backdrop of a debate that has been ongoing for several years around four important issues in public sector compensation in Ghana, namely; (a) pay disparities that have emerged within the public services; (b) rising cost of the public sector wage bill; (c) large number of public sector pay negotiations; and (d) linkage of pay to productivity.

1.3 Problem Statement The public service which is the main facilitator for the private sector to drive the pace of national development has for long been anguishing in poor service conditions and as a result, it has been rendered a weak link in the delivery of the nations programme and development agenda thereby accounting for many of the problems associated with the poor performance, lack of professionalism and corruption which has become so rampant in the public service. Hence, from the early 1970s the Government of Ghana has established various commissions to review compensation in the public service with the goal of improving living conditions in the Public Service through fair and transparent compensation as well as managing the recurring menace of disparities and inequities that existed in the public service. Unfortunately, the results for all this efforts were ad hoc and short lived. To address this dilemma, the government has decided to introduce The SSSS to restore equity and transparency in public service salary administration. This new pay policy is to be implemented in phases over a five(5)-year period effective January 01, 2010.However, to ensure that this current reform becomes the panacea of achieving governments goal as mentioned earlier, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission was established by law in 2007 with the responsibility: (a) To ensure fair, transparent and systematic implementation of the public service pay policy,

(b)

To develop and advise Government and ensure that decisions are

implemented on matters related to

salaries, wages, grading, classification job analysis and job evaluation performance management and indicators, and allowances and benefits in the public service with the ultimate objective of the consolidation of allowances and benefits; and

(c) To undertake negotiations where compensations financed from public funds In addition, the challenge of managing negotiations for compensation with the various unions and employees which has been extremely difficult for Government to manage due to its schedule (i.e. annually) has been addressed through the grouping of the public sector institutions into nine service classifications. The objective of these classifications is to group institutions together where with similar job description in terms of educational

qualifications, skills and training to perform their work, in the first instance, or the institutional role is similar, ( i.e. regulators). These service classifications

will also facilitate career planning and negotiations in the public sector. With all the unions within a service classification now required to negotiate at the same time, this approach will further allow Government to have a maximum of nine negotiating sessions for each budget year and this has well been embraced by organized labor.

Using the case of the Ghana Police Service which has successfully undergone their implementation stage this research work sought to unravel how the SSSS could solve these long lingering problems of poor conditions of service in the public service? Also, will the management reforms triggered by the SSSS, render the woes of the public service a dilemma of the past?

1.4 Purpose and Significance of the Study The single spine salary structure has been criticized by some section and some professional bodies. Recent pronouncement by sections of public servants notable amongst them is the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG), shows their opposition to the implementation of the SSSS. Whilst the GMA claim the SSSS is unfavorable to medical doctors, the CLOGSAGS position is that only 2% of jobs of their members were placed higher on the SSSS. The rest were placed lower. These associations will therefore prefer the current GUSS. The FWSC has counteracted these claims by the GMA and CLOGSAG. Hence, these concerns and criticisms as well as the quest to better the conditions of service in the civil service necessitated this study. Also, in spite of all the criticisms, this study when completed will attempt to unravel the means by which the SSSS can constitute the panacea to improving the condition of service in the public sector taking into considerations concerns expressed by institutions and how the FWSC addresses these concerns as they receive them so as to guarantee the accomplishment of the SSSS.

1.5 Research Objective The broad objective of this study is to examine how the ultimate goal of the SSSS which is to ensure equity, fairness, and transparency in Public Service Salary Administration as well as

enhance performance and productivity thereby improving the conditions of service in the public service. Specifically seeks: (a) To find out how service personnel are placed on the SSSS at the Police Service; (b) To find out service personnels understanding of the SSSS (c) To assess the impact of the SSSS on the performance of the service personnel; (d) To determine the major role played by the SSSS in rendering financial freedom to service personnel (e) To unearth the challenges faced by the implementation of the SSSS at the police Services;

1.6 Research Question This research dubbed SSSS a panacea for improving the condition of service in the public service (The case of the Ghana police service) extensively dealt with as well as managed to establish:
I.

How the service personnel will be placed on the SSSS at the Police Service? How do the Personnel understand SSSS? How does the SSSS impact on the performance of the service personnel? What major role has the SSSS played in rendering financial freedom to the service personnel?

II. III. IV.

V.

Challenges encountered during the implementation process at the police service.

These and many other relevant hypothetical questions which arose in the course of this study were dealt with accordingly and reconciled them with the research objectives as mentioned above.

1.7 Scope of the Study For the purpose of this study we limited ourselves to the Ghana police service which has already undergone full implementation process of the SSSS and hence migrated from the GUSS. Also, this study focused mainly on the Police Headquarters in Accra in the ascertainment of facts on the impact of the SSSS. However, The SSSS is expected to cover all public service workers specified under Article190 of the 1992 constitution.

1.8 Limitations of the Study The study was not without limitations since as at the time of conducting this research, the FWSC were still in the process of collating data for the SSSS and only few institutions have(had) migrated unto the SSSS. Due to this, the FWSC were reluctant to release information even on those institutions that have migrated including that of the Ghana police service on which this study was limited to. Also, this challenge was with another major setback of almost having little or no sources of reference specifically on the SSSS since it is a new structure of its kind in a developing country like Ghana. On the hand, being a security establishment, the Ghana police service secretariats were hushed as far as documentary details of their salaries were concerned. Inevitably,

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the limitation of time and resources to ascertain information in the other regions of the country and, to widen the scope of the research was met helplessly without remedy. 1.9 Organization of the Study This research is divided into five (5) chapters, references and appendix sections. Chapter one of the research is devoted to introduction, background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose and significance of the study, objectives of the study, research questions/hypothesis that guided the study, organization of the study and definition of terms. The chapter two of this research is devoted to the review of related literature which gives impetus to the study. This review covers the meaning, importance and benefits of SSSS. Furthermore, chapter three of the research is concerned with the methodology that is used in data collection. Chapter four follows on the heels of chapter three and, concentrates on the data analysis and presentation. The last chapter gives a summary of the study which includes the conclusions and recommendations and areas suggested for further study. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction According to Dyk, (2010) The new public sector pay policy, the Single Spine Salary Structure, comes into effect tomorrow but already there are indications a section of public sector workers are not in favour of it. The new pay policy is a unified salary structure that places all public sector employees on one vertical structure, making sure that jobs within the same job value range are paid
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within the same pay range. It would replace all existing salary schemes within the public service. In the months prior to the policy's implementation, various labour groups have taken diverse positions on certain aspects of the policy.

Lieberman, (2010) asserts that Some of these labour groups have accepted the need for a single pay structure but many more have kicked against the whole idea. Most vocal against the policy is The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG), which has called for the single spine pay policy to be scrapped. The group says the Ghana Universal Salary Structure should be maintained and other workers brought on to it.

James Ekow Amissah, (2010) the Acting President of CLOSAG said a lot of money had been spent addressing problems associated with the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) and there was therefore no need to abandon that policy and go for the SSSS. He further on added that, another challenge is that while the GUSS has twenty-four (24) levels, the SSSS has twenty-five (25) levels which will create more problems. The University Teachers Association of Ghana, (2010), UTAG on the other hand has welcomed the pay policy. They have however expressed worry that the committee set up to review the job evaluation process has not communicated much information to the public.

The president of UTAG, Dr. Samuel Kwesi Asiedu Addo (2010) said, The universities are also concerned about the migration of salaries to the Controller and Accountant Generals Department. We have written papers to the government through the Vice Chancellors Ghana, we are not in favour of it because it will cause more problems than they are trying to solve.

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The National Association of Graduate Teachers has also welcomed the Single Spine Salary Structure, but like UTAG, it says the job evaluation process should be redone. Despite these calls by the various groups, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission are set to go ahead with its implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure from tomorrow, July 1st. Play the attached audio and listen to the disagreements by the various labour groups over the new pay policy. Source: Joy News Report July, 2011

2.2 Meaning/Definition of Single Spine Pay Policy The FWSC, The SSSS is a unified salary structure that places all public sector employees on one vertical structure with incremental pay points from the lowest to the highest in an organization. It is a new comprehensive pay policy designed for the workers in Ghana with the ultimate goal of ensuring equity, fairness, and transparency as well as enhancing performance and productivity in the public service thereby, adding true meaning to the concept of equal pay for equal work. As a tool to motivate public service workers to improve service delivery and productivity, it is expected to cover all public service workers specified under Article190 of the 1992 constitution namely: The Civil Service, the Judicial Service, the Audit Service, the Education Service, the Prisons Service, the Parliamentary Service, the Health Service, the Statistical Service, the National Fire Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Police Service, the Immigration Service; and the Legal Service; (b) Public corporations other than those set up as commercial ventures;

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(c) Public services established by the Constitution; and (d) Such other public services as Parliament may by law prescribe. However, Public Office holders specified under Article 71 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana and the Ghana Armed Forces are excluded.

Government White Paper on the Single Spine Pay Policy According to Marjorie Heins, (2010), The Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) has been put forward to restore equity and transparency in public service pay administration. The new pay policy is to be implemented in phases over a five (5)-year period effective January 01, 2010.

The first six (6) months of the implementation process will be used to address some persistent technical problems to ensure that the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) does not re-introduce inequities which it was designed to address.

The paper is in four (4) parts. It begins with an Introduction. The second part deals with the Background to the SSPP. The third part addresses the Introduction of the New Pay Policy stating the rationale for it, its objectives, key elements of the policy and establishment of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) which is to oversee the implementation of the SSPP.

Section four (4) articulates Government's Position on the subject. Government is grateful to its social partners, especially organised labour, for its cooperation in working to bring about equity and transparency in national pay administration.

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2.3 Past Attempts at Public Service Pay Reform J. Popham (2010) concludes that Over the years, pay reforms and reviews have been undertaken by past Governments with the goal of improving Public Service salaries and managing the recurring canker of disparities and inequities in the Pay Administration System. Attempts to redress these problems included reviews by Commissions and Committees such as Mills-Odoi (1967); Issifu Ali (1973); Justice Azu-Crabbe (1979-1983) and Gyampoh (1992-1993). Despite these attempts, distortions, inequities, and low incomes continue to persist within the Public Services.

2.4 The Ghana Universal Salary Structure Molly Pauker, (2010) asserts that A comprehensive 22-Level Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) was introduced in 1999. It was intended for implementation in all institutions in the Public Services, to deal with salary inequities and distortions. However, the objective of universality underpinning the GUSS could not be realized, particularly since sections of the Public Services were allowed to opt out without any sanctions being applied. Its failure could also be attributed to the fact that the Central Management Board and the Appellate Body that were to manage its implementation were not backed by any legal instrument and were also not adequately resourced.

2.5 The New Public Service Pay Policy a. Rationale for a New Pay Policy:
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According to Corbett, Humphries, and Lerman, (2011), The Single Spine Salary Structure (SSPP) has been proposed against the backdrop of a debate that has been ongoing for several years around four important issues in public sector pay in Ghana, namely; (a) pay disparities that have emerged within the public services; (b) rising cost of the public sector wage bill; (c) large number of public sector pay negotiations; and (d) linkage of pay to productivity. b. Development of the Single Spine Pay Policy: The Pay Reform component of the broader Public Sector Reform Agenda (2006 - 2011) is the latest initiative by Government to restore fairness in the Public Service Pay Administration System. Listed below are the steps taken to develop the SSPP. (a) Appointment of a Consultant Consulting Ltd was engaged in May 2006 to, among others: (i) develop a pay regime that is fair, transparent, and equitable; (ii) Design a Pay Policy framework that is sustainable; (iii) Include all Public Service institutions and employees on a unified Grading and Pay Structure; and (iv) Design a Pay Structure for implementation over the medium term which could attract the requisite skills and competencies to the Public Service s and be managed within the national budget; (b) Activities undertaken by the Consultant

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The Consultant; (i) Conducted an initial review which revealed the lack of a pay administration framework with mandated responsibility and authority to implement pay reforms, as one of the weaknesses in achieving pay reform objectives. (ii) Grouped Public Service institutions based on similarities of jobs in terms of requirements for education, skills and training to perform their work and other institutional roles. Consequently, nine (9) Service Classifications were created as follows:

Public Policy, Planning, Service, Administration, and Related Services; Health Services; Education (Non-Tertiary); Education (Tertiary), Science, & Research; Revenue and Accounting Services; Security Services; Legal and Judicial Services; Sub-vented (Commercial & Non-Commercial); and Regulators. [L. Bauman, (2011)] (iii) Conducted Job Analysis and Evaluation exercises in all Public Service institutions under Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, including, the; Public Services, namely, the; .. Civil Service; Judicial Service; Audit Service; Education Service; Prisons Service; Parliamentary Service; Health Service; Statistical Service; National Fire Service .Customs, Excise and Preventive Service; Internal Revenue Service; Police Service; Immigration Service; Legal Service; and. Local Government Service. Public Corporations, other than those set up as commercial ventures; Public Services established by the Constitution; and Such other Public Services as Parliament may by law prescribe. [L. Bauman, (2011)] The Job Evaluation determined the value of all Public Service jobs; established internal relativities across and within Service Classifications with the object of enabling Government to reward its

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employees in accordance with the principle of "equal pay for work of equal value" consistent with Article 24(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Section 10(b) of the Labour Act, 2003, Act 651. The result of this exercise provided the basis to begin placing Public Service jobs onto a Single Spine Salary Structure. (IV) produced the following key outputs: Nine (9) Service Classifications; Results of Jobs Evaluation; A 25-Level Grade Structure; Results of Analysis of Pay Differentials and Allowances in the Public Service; and A 25-Level Single Spine Salary Structure. [L. Bauman, (2011)]

2.6 Objectives of the New Pay Policy According to A. Miles, (2010), The ultimate goal of the SSPP is to ensure equity, fairness, and transparency in Public Service Salary Administration as well as enhance performance and productivity. The specific objectives of the Pay Policy are to: (a) Place all public sector employees on one vertical structure; (b) ensure that jobs within the same job value range are paid within the same pay range (i.e.'' equal pay for work of equal worth''); (c) allow Government the ability to manage the wage bill more efficiently; (d) ensure compliance and ease of monitoring the pay structures of self-accounting institutions; (e) minimize industrial-relation tensions related to low pay and distortions across the Public Services; and (f) link pay to productivity.

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2.7 Key Elements of the Pay Policy According to A. Miles, (2010), The SSPP which is intended to drive the Public Service Pay Administration System has important features as follows: (a) its development involved extensive stakeholder consultation and participation from the design through to its finalization. The policy is, therefore, built on consensus and ownership; (b) provision of legal backing for Pay Administration i.e. promulgation of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission Act, 2007 (Act 737); (c) the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission as the Pay Policy regulatory, oversight and implementation institution has been established; (d) a Grading Structure for Public Service jobs, based on the results of the Job Evaluation exercise has been designed; (e) a 25-Level unified salary structure for the Public Service has also been designed; (f) it lays emphasis on linking pay to productivity; (g) classification of Public Service jobs has been prepared based up on requirements for education, skills and training to deliver their mandates; (h) categorization of Allowances in the Public Services into four (4) distinct types, with a proposal to harmonies and standardize them has been prepared; and (i) Market Premiums and inducements, as strategies to attract and retain critical skills in short supply and deployment of public servants to deprived areas have been identified.

2.8 The Role of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission in Streamlining Remuneration in Public Sector Organisations
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J. Schwartzman and M. Mincberg, (2010) In anticipation of the New Pay Policy, the Fair Wages, and Salaries Commission, Act 2007 (Act 737) was promulgated. This is to serve a dual purpose: to provide an institutional home for Public Service Pay implementations and a legal backing to deliver on its mandate. This is reckoned as a significant improvement upon previous arrangements. The objectives of the Commission are to: (a) ensure a fair, transparent, and systematic implementation of Government Public Service Pay Policy; (b) develop and advise Government on Pay Policy issues and ensure that decisions relating to such matters are implemented; and (c) undertake negotiations where compensation is financed from public funds.

The mandate of the Commission does not include the determination of emoluments for the category of public officers specified under Article 71of the 1992 Constitution.

2.9 Government's Position 2.9.1 Single Spine Pay Policy Wald and D. Blake, (2010) argues that, Government accepts, in principle, the recommendation that the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) serve as basis for Public Service Pay effective January 01, 2010, subject to the correction of the technical problems associated with the current proposal. To achieve an ideal SSPP, Government recognizes that a review of the proposed Pay Policy should be undertaken to address the technical issues (service functions, job content, scheme of service, job descriptions, job evaluation performance indicators, productivity indices, among others) to enhance the effective implementation of the SSPP. In addition, necessary complementary public sector reforms should be undertaken to promote the achievements of the objectives of the SSPP.

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2.9.2 The Single Spine Salary Structure Wald and D. Blake, (2010) argues further that, Government has taken note of the 25-Level Grade Structure designed for Public Service jobs. Government accepts the 25-Level Salary Structure as the basis for the implementation of the new Pay Policy. The Salary Structure may be reviewed from time to time to ensure equity.

2.9.3 Coverage of the Policy According to Wald and D. Blake, (2010) Government accepts that the SSPP shall be applicable to the Public Service institutions specified under Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution and which subsist on the Consolidated Fund, except those under Article 71of the 1992 Constitution, and the Ghana Armed Forces. Government further endorses the recommendation that all other public service institutions cannot opt out of the SSPP.

2.9.4 Establishment of a Legal Body Wald and D. Blake, (2010) explains further that, Government accepts that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), as established, is the institution responsible for the implementation of Public Sector Pay Policy, facilitating the collective bargaining process, and providing a monitoring and advisory role.

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As provided in Section 29 of the FWSC Act, 2007 (Act 737) all other arrangements for determining Salaries and Conditions of Service in the Public Services shall cease to exist. However, institutions such as the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), the Public Services Commission (PSC) and the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare (MESW) that have been involved in reviewing salaries and allowances of Public Service institutions over the years should support and co-operate with the Commission in the delivery of its mandate. Wald and D. Blake, (2010) argues that, Government recognizes that FWSC has to be able to discharge its mandate if this new Public Services pay administration system is to succeed. FWSC as a regulator must have capacity to police the new system and sanction offenders. It must also have capacity to promote best practices in pay administration to be applied by human resource practitioners, who are to be empowered as implementers of this new Pay Policy in public service organizations. Government therefore endorses measures to empower the Commission to deliver on its mandate. In the interim, the FWSC will be required to develop guidelines and standards to guide human resource managers in the various institutions in all aspects of the implementation of the SSPP. Government hence acknowledges that the FWSC will be highly instrumental in the effective implementation of the new Pay Policy and is, therefore, committed to adequately resourcing the Commission to deliver on its mandate.

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2.10 Negotiations with Government have noted the need for negotiations with respect to; According to H. Hendry and A. Jameson, (2010), (a) Relativities of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and (b) standardization of Categories 2 and 3 Allowances; Government further notes that negotiations for the base pay and relativities of the SSSS shall be carried out between FWSC, MOFEP, and MESW on one hand and Organised Labour/Associations on the other. The issue of multiple rounds of negotiation by various services, which would in time erode any gains to be made and defeat the principle of equity, is one of the inherent flaws of the current proposal which should be corrected. Also, unlike normal single spines, which need only one round of negotiations, the proposed structure calls for ten (10) rounds of negotiations (one central on consolidated base salary and nine service-based negotiations on other conditions of services), thus missing out on one of the key benefits of a standard single spine that of fully centralized wage bargaining. L. Scharff, (2010) adds his voice by saying Government, recognizing the importance of correcting this and other aspects of the proposal, will work with its social partners at all stages for the proposal to become an ideal single spine structure eliminating multiple negotiations for "other" pay, which will re-introduce the very inequities which the proposal has been made to deal with. Government therefore endorses an approach leading to a one round negotiation, as soon as possible, also to reduce transaction cost. L. Scharff, (2010) further explains that Performance Management and Productivity Government did not find any linkage in performance management and productivity in the Single Spine Salary
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Structure. Government recognises that improved compensation must be driven by improved performance or productivity. In effect, there would be the need to establish a link between the new salary policy and performance management. This aspect of the policy is what Government will actively engage it s social partners to accomplish and thereby properly orient Single Spine Pay Policy as a fair and equitable way of remunerating public servants. Government endorses the introduction of a robust public service-wide performance management, monitoring, and evaluation system. Once the system is in place, annual salary increments for public servants will no longer be automatic, but based on annual performance assessment.

2.10.1 Allowances and Remuneration

E. Kirtley, (2010) asserts that, Government recognises the four (4) categories of allowances that have been proposed. Government notes that, to ensure equity, Category 1 Allowances, which have been incorporated into the base pay as an outcome of the Job Analysis and Evaluation exercise, should not be re-introduced. Government accepts the recommendation that Categories 2 and 3 Allowances should be standardised to ensure equity and effective management of the wage bill. Government notes the recommendation that Category 4 Allowances and Benefits be discontinued to make the Personnel Emoluments component of the National Budget more transparent and manageable. Government takes note of the proposal for conversion of in kind benefits to cash. This will be carefully studied and subjected to intense cost-benefit analysis after which an appropriate decision will be made.

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2.10.2 Sustainability of the Pay Policy

According to W. Sanford and S. Hoberman (2011), To ensure that the cost of the SSPP does not disrupt the macroeconomic stability agenda, the financial burden on Government will be phased out in a pyramid manner such that as the outer years of implementation are approached, more resources will be made available to public sector workers until the pay policy is fully implemented in the fifth year.

2.11 Threat to Democracy According to Judge Buckley, (2011) The Secretary General of the TUC, Kofi Asamoah described as unacceptable that after 50years of independence Ghana has failed towards meeting the key labour targets of employment creation, workers rights, social protection, and social dialogue. He said a peaceful democratic government cannot be sustained in a country where the mass of its people live under debilitating and endemic poverty. The huge decent work deficit is not good for our democracy. If democracy fails to deliver decent work and improve living standards, the people can easily lose confidence in the political system. It is therefore important that all social partners, government, workers, and employers join hands to ensure that Ghanaians are guaranteed decent work. Democracy and good governance should be translated into benefits and real improvement in the standard of living of the people."

He acknowledged governments promise to provide job opportunities for its people, a promise
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thoroughly stated in the NDC manifesto and in its 2011 budget. Sadly though the budget did not provide specific strategies or measures for job creation and the indicators against which performance will be measured. Indeed we are yet to see concrete strategies and measures aimed at addressing the alarming unemployment situation in the country," he lamented.

Kofi Asamoah also noted that the increasing street hawking in the country is a reflection of the policy failure in the country.

We do not believe that Ghanaians enjoy street hawking, rather street hawking has become a survival strategy in the absence of decent jobs, he said, charging government to take steps to improve economic conditions to absorb workers in the informal sectors as well as general conditions of workers in the formal sector.

The theme for the 2011 May Day celebration is "Decent work for sustainable economic development" As usual workers from the various labour unions in the country thronged the Independence Square, venue for the celebration, singing, chanting and brandishing placards such "we need affordable houses now" "Mr President where is the money in our pocket" "say no to AVRL Mr president." The occassion was climaxed with the awards to hard working employees. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Mohammed Natogmah Sugri/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana.

The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, (2011), Has warned persons who may try to destabilise the peace of the country to put a stop to their plans, because the government was determined to ensure that not even a single blood is shed during the 2012 general elections. Mr. Mahama was addressing

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thousands of workers at the Independence Square in Accra yesterday to mark this years May Day. According to him, the government would not allow any person or group of persons to jeopardise the future of the country. He assured Ghanaian workers that the government would make everything possible to improve their conditions of service. Mr. Mahama indicated that 33 institutions were being migrated on to the single spine salary structure, which took off in July, last year. Though the implementation of the new salary policy had been flawed with challenges, he said the government would resolve them. Mr. Mahama, therefore, appealed to the workers to increase their level of productivity to enable the nation remains competitive in the sub-region. The Vice President also called on organised labour to help the government fight corruption. The Secretary General of Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Kofi Asamoah (2011), added his voice to the call of the Vice President, saying, as we enter the political campaign season for the 2012 elections, we expect our political parties, the government, the National Electoral Commission and other stakeholders, such as our vibrant and varied civil society organisations and citizens of Ghana to exhibit maturity. He stressed that the electoral process must be transparent, and called on the competing political parties presidential candidates to engage in debates over the main social and economic issues. According to Mr. Asamoah, the country expects a clear vision for the future of Ghana and concrete policy alternatives that would transform the Ghanaian economy into a true middle-income status, where social equity and justice prevail. He warned politicians to spare Ghanaians the politics of insults, lies, attacks on personalities, and any form of violence, noting, We need peace to develop our
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country. Touching on the workers front, Mr. Asamoah admitted that workers in the formal economy receive take home pay that cannot take them home. He noted that the outcome of the mapping of public sector workers on to the single spine salary structure clearly showed that the level of pay in the public sector was still low. Mr. Asamoah, therefore, called on the government to further review the new pay policy to enable workers see its real benefits. He reiterated organised labours position that in order to improve productivity, employers should first improve wages, adding, Employers should invest in training of their workers and pay them well. Firms that use a reasonable proportion of their revenue to pay their workers above the market rate are able to reduce worker turnover and increase labour productivity, the TUC boss appealed. To overcome these challenges, he indicated that workers need to be empowered to participate in decisions that affect their lives, as well as democratisation at the workplace. According to him, even though the Labour Act 651, 2003, section 79 allows freedom of association and the rights to collective bargaining, some employers in Ghana had resorted to several undemocratic tactics to frustrate workers and prevent them from freely joining the trade unions of their choice, thereby denying these workers the right to exercise their constitutional right to collective bargaining. On safety at workplaces, Mr. Asamoah told his colleague unionists that many workers were dying on the job, and others suffer various degrees while at work. Furthermore, he said, some workers also develop occupational diseases that eventually kill them due to the harmful physical conditions in which they work and the toxic materials they handle

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He observed that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was no doubt a comprehensive healthcare programme, arguing that Good healthcare delivery also thrives on health infrastructure. The trade unionists acknowledged the governments effort toward the expansion of the health infrastructure, particularly, at the district level, and entreated the government to continue to take the necessary measures to strengthen the NHIS for better healthcare delivery.

2.11.1 Share this news:

I have keenly observed the sorrows of the Ghanaian teacher since this animal called Single Spine Salary Structure(SSSS) reared its mugu yaro head on the shores of our beautiful country. For me, the most important groups of professionals in any society are teachers, farmers, and doctors. With only these three groups, any nation that is seriously bent on making advancement in any sphere of human endeavour can easily do so. Unfortunately, greedy, incompetent, liars, indecent and brainless pseudo-socialists have held the nation to ransom by always descending heavily on knowledgeable people who seek to make useful contributions towards our nations advancement with their highly caustic mouths. Intelligent voices have therefore decided to keep silent while plain-faced vagabonds with destructive mentality akin only to that of Haitis renegade criminal organization called The Tonton Makut are having a field-day.

Now, before an individual can appreciate what he/she has to do with his/her life in future, it has to take the efforts of a teacher to teach and direct him/her at the foundation stage. I remember my primary school days at Maame Esaaba Memorial Primary at Memmpe Asem near Sekondi, where some of

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our teachers were trekking for hours to school. Relatively, I am certainly not a wealthy person but I recently met one of the masters who taught me in secondary school and I was extremely sad. I would not say he is a pauper but considering the fact that this person who probably had his university degree in the early 70s and has certainly imparted so much knowledge to millions of students who must be occupying various important positions in our society today, was still struggling to board a trotro to his one-room rented accommodation somewhere in Kasoa was rather pathetic.

He is currently retired, and according to what he told me, his many years of clutching to sticks of chalk and duster did not bring him and his nuclear family any meaningful livelihood. Indeed, tragedies of both active and retired teachers actually abound but this is an example I can personally attest to. In the case of farmers, they provide for the survival of the human race by way of ensuring there is food on our table. This food is then consumed and our bodies nutritional requirements are provided to enable us to accumulate the necessary energies to undertake our various daily activities. Doctors take care of our ailments and make sure we do not perish from preventable deaths.

But rather sadly, the Mills administration seems to be embarking on a deliberate mission to relegate to the background enormous contributions of these above named professionals while their appointees are going about hounding for multi-million dollar properties. On the issue of teachers in particular, the Mills administration has treated them with contempt. I remember Madam Pretty Betty, affectionately called madam how dare they, now the education minister, saying at a press conference that mistakes surrounding the teachers SSSS implementation were as a result of undue pressure brought to bear on her ministry by the teachers. And if we were operating in a civilized environment, that very pronouncement should have instantly resulted in her
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instant dismissal. And my reason is simple: a person who has been put in-charge of a ministry to steer its affairs in the right way, and at all times, so that sanity prevails to enable set targets to be met irrespective of any external pressures, rather unashamedly, proclaiming in front of television cameras that she made those mistakes so that teachers would go through that stress simply on a flimsy account that pressure was brought on her!!! Effectively, she was simply telling the president who appointed her to head the education ministry, and by extension the whole Ghanaian populace, that if she was a medical doctor and you go to her with an advanced stage of appendicitis (inflamed appendix), she can still go ahead and rather remove your brain instead of your appendix if you are able to bring pressure to bear on her to do so. These are the kind of people currently managing the affairs of our dear nation. Any wonder why our nations institutions are in complete disarray. In spite of their total incompetence, these government appointees have access to every good thing under the sun. The juvenile-delinquents amongst them, by the benevolence of political office, are today able to kidnap peoples daughters and force them into marriage and take them on nuptial-flights to faraway Obama-land while the suffering teachers badly crushed single-salary-spine has been left to rot. And with the Coalition of Concerned Teachers in the Eastern Region rejecting the 15% salary increase for the month of March, 2011 describing it as an insult to their dignity (Daily Guide, 20/4/11, pg.6), it is clearly evident that this current lesion afflicting the spine of Ghanaian teachers can never be surgically removed by these incompetent and greedy government appointees who are rather preoccupied with their new-found love of property-grabbing ship. Attempts to even voice their
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grievances are met with armored-vehicles and hails of bullet from the zombie fraternity.

In medical Radiology, some of the most common spinal problem patients normally report to our department with is spondylosis, kyphosis, lordiosis, scoliosis, and all kinds of fractures as a result of road traffic accidents (RTA). Spondylosis is an abnormal growth anywhere along the spinal column which tends to exert pressure on the nerves emanating from the spinal-cord. This condition normally results in pains in parts of the body being served by these pressured nerves. So for example; a patient will go to a doctor with pains in the arms and fingers but an X-ray of the neck will be requested. And this is because the nerves controlling the arms actually emerge from the spinal-cord at points in the cervical spine which is found in the neck. Kyphosis, lordiosis and scoliosis are all types of what we normally refer to in the Akan language as akyakya or efu (hunch).Kyphosis is when the curvature is at the back, lordiosis is when the curvature is at the front and scoliosis is when the curvature is at either the left or right side of the thorax. Road traffic accidents (RTA) can also cause various degrees of fractures to the spine. The single-salary-spine of the Ghanaian teacher has suffered a debilitating blow by the Mills administration and because those who have been tasked to diagnose the extent of damage in order for a remedy to be found, have their attention rather focused on property-grabbing. As such, I would like to advise the teachers to take their destiny into their own hands by seeking solutions to their problems.

Now, orthopedic surgeons are medical doctors who have specialized in handling conditions affecting the skeletal system. I would therefore advise the gallant teachers of our nation whos enormous, vital and selfless contributions to our nations development have been completely relegated to the background, to consider paying a visit to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to engage the services of an
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orthopedic surgeon. I would therefore advise them to walk away from useless Kweku Ananse promises of these incompetent and greedy government officials, and seek the intervention of an appropriate surgical specialist since such a move will bring about proper diagnoses of the extent of damage done to their Single-Salary-Spines by the Mills administration so that the appropriate remedy can be administered. Yesterday, Ghana went through another ritual of celebrating May Day with a yawn. As a day set aside to recognize the toils of our workers, there is but little sincerity on the part of those at the helm of affairs in really changing the uncomfortable lot of the average Ghanaian worker. For us, this is a day when, besides recognizing the indefatigable contribution of workers, we should realistically look at the non-commensurate financial reward for their toils as we stand on the fringes. They remain the unsung backbone of our economic development, ready to be mentioned in speeches as on such occasions under review, yet live from hand- to-mouth, malnourished and hopeless. Characteristic of such occasions, Ghanaian workers were promised a better tomorrow through an allpervading implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure. For those already enjoying it, they have tales of woes to tell about how the propaganda which greeted its partial, or so, implementation resulted in skyrocketing of prices on the open market and depleted real incomes. So much politicking has gone into the Single Spine scheme that it appears to have broken its lone spine, as it is challenged with arguments and counter-arguments over which regime originated it and the like. In the event, little or no room is left for the necessary fine-tuning to make it more palatable and beneficial for the Ghanaian worker for whom it is intended to assist in getting by in a rather inclement economic system. Vice President John Mahama (2011), Addressed Ghanaian workers, assuring them of full coverage of
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the scheme by September. Good talk, but the reality is that the average Ghanaian worker continues to be exploited by employers, especially in the private sector and there is no guarantee that with the Vice President making good his promise, the lot of the Ghanaian worker would alter overnight if at all. It is our desire that government fashions an arrangement which would make it possible for employers to adhere to worldwide acceptable best practices in its obligations to workers. Besides salary increase, workers living conditions could be bolstered through the provision of basic services such as health delivery, education for their kids and assured pension schemes. The foregone for now are non-existent in many cases, leaving most workers totally drained by the time the next payday is due. It is not an exaggeration to state that many workers are denied access to three square meals a day, a situation which, besides being injurious to their health, compels them sometimes to borrow money to see them through the month. With the burden of debt hanging around their necks like albatrosses on a near permanent basis, they continue to be inundated with promises of politicians that things would be alright, to which we ask when? In the past year, since the last May Day celebrations, workers have witnessed further dwindling of their real incomes as they look on helplessly. They risk dismissals when they show any sign of discontent with their conditions. We do hope that government would take another look at how to improve the living conditions of the Ghanaian worker through innovative interventions, outside the monthly emoluments available to them so that on the next May Day, the story would be different. Anyway, we would nonetheless congratulate our hardworking workers for going through the hell that is the prevalent situation. Accra, May 6, GNA - Successive Governments after that of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah (2011) have not given Ghana News Agency (GNA) the needed support because they failed to appreciate the vital role a strengthened GNA could play in Ghana's democracy.

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Speaking at the inauguration of the GNA Board in Accra on Friday, Ambassador Kabral Blay Amihere (2011), Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), said Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah (2011),, who set up the Agency, clearly understood why the new Ghana needed its own news agency to tell the African story. "The GNA is more relevant today than before. Today's expanded media and political landscape offers GNA a bigger market and greater significance," he said.

He said it was unfortunate that fortunes of the GNA, which had offices in Nairobi, Lagos, London and even an office in the UN Headquarters in New York at its peak had had its fortunes dwindling. Ambassador Amihere (2011), said: "The NMC was, therefore, conscious of where GNA is today and meticulously composed the new Board, which is chaired Mr Gaddy Laryea (2011), an accomplished advertising executive, administrator and founder of his own successful company."

He said one of the challenges of the Board, the Management and Staff was "to market GNA's full potential for all stakeholders to appreciate its importance and called on the new members to help to reposition GNA as the pivotal media institution in Ghana's democracy, make the Agency financially independent and improve staff welfare".

Touching on the recent development at the GNA that placed it in the news, he said whatever concerns that were raised by the Unions were receiving the full attention of the Commission within the requisite diligent procedure and regulation demanded under the rule of law. "GNA as it embarks on its new journey needs peace, harmony and unity between the Management and Staff. The new Board can only succeed in such an atmosphere" he said.

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The Supervising Chief Editor, Mr Boakye-Dankwa Boadi (2011), touted GNA's pivotal role in safeguarding the stability of Ghana's democracy. He cited the tension that engulfed the whole country after the 2008 Presidential Election Runoff and how a GNA story quoting Former President John Agyekum Kufour (2011), asking all Ghanaians to accept the results of the Election, when declared by the Electoral Commission, dissipated the gloom. Mr Boadi said another GNA story in 2000 that stated that the then Former Vice President John Evans Atta Mills had conceded defeat and congratulated Former President Kufuor (2011), paved the way for the peaceful transfer of power from the National Democratic Congress Government to the New Patriotic Party Government.

He said, notwithstanding, the challenges the Agency was currently facing, one of its Easter stories "Ghanaian Christians Celebrate Easter" was automatically selected by the Master Computer of Google as the best Easter story in the whole world and made accessible to billions of people throughout the world. "GNA is a national asset that should not be toyed with," Mr Boadi (2011), said. The Chairman of the Board, Mr Gaddy Laryea (2011), in his acceptance letter to the NMC said: "Like most Ghanaians, I have followed the evolving fortunes and development of GNA with irresistible nostalgia and have finally reached the conclusion that a pragmatic diagnosis of the problems is necessary to bail out the Agency and set it back on the path of growth. He said the Board would not usurp the functions of the Management but would help it to achieve the vision and mission of the Agency, adding that he was inspired by the successes chalked by the GNA.

The Board Chairman said success could only be achieved by people with passion and called on the

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Management and staff to get on board to make the GNA dream a reality. Mr Robert Hrisir-Quaye (2011), who spoke on behalf of the old Board, said Two years ago, at the inauguration of their Board, a statement about their predecessors kept them on their toes and noted it was unfortunate that just as they had to leave the scene they were confronted by unprecedented developments at the Agency.

He said they were delighted that despite the undercurrents, there was relative calm at the Agency and wished the new Board well in its deliberations. Ambassador Amihere swore in the new Board members - Alhaji Haruna Attah; Mr Joseph Adjei; Nana Asantewaa Afadzenu; Ms Ajoa Yeboah Afari and Mr Nat Lomo Mainoo.

In an interview after the inauguration, Mrs Yaa Oforiwah Asare-Peasah (2011), Deputy News Editor of the GNA, Welcomed the new Board and appealed to the members to constantly interact with the workers to discuss their aspirations and challenges. "A one-on-one interaction as well as frequent durbars would not only affirm the confidence of the workers but also help to address the challenges facing them to eventually promote a cordial working relationship among all."

2.11.2 Job Performance Scheme to Be Executed Under SSSS in April 21, 2011
Ho, April 21, GNA - A scheme that will align job performance to pay in the public services is being developed as part of the Single Spine Incomes Policy. Togbe Adom Drayi II, Head of Organization Department of the Ghana Trade Union Congress, (GTUC) said this at the Ho District Council of Labour (DCL) meeting in Ho on Tuesday. He explained that when implemented, the performance management system which is based on proper job functions and evaluation modules would make public sector workers actually earn their salaries.
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Togbe Adom Drayi (2011) said The system should negate the present situation of "many public sector workers not doing much to deserve even their current salaries". He made reference to some private sector institutions where the ability to meet monthly targets makes salaries vary from month to month. The well-attended meeting discussed the Single Spine Pay Policy, the Oil Industry, and the May Day 2011 Celebrations in the Volta Region.

Togbe Adom Drayi (2011),

said The TUC would rather engage the government in properly

constituted negotiations on behalf of its members to thrash out problems associated with the implementation of the single spine salary structure than pressurize government for benefits out of turn. Madam Teresa Nadia Abugah (2011), Head of Women's Desk at the GTUC, said It appeared workers and even some managers were not conversant with the ingredients needed in formulating data that determined placement on the salary spine. She said this situation created problems that necessitated the re-evaluation of about 500 jobs, expected to be completed next month (May).

Madam Abugah (2011), said The salary policy was a comprehensive one, which was complicated and was sure to come with challenges. She said the back pay on the single spine salary was being worked out for payment. Madam Abugah (2011) said The GTUC was interested in how the oil revenue was managed and how the industry would impact on job creation locally. Workers asked questions about the wide disparities in salaries under the Single Spine Pay Structure and its slow implementation.

Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Adzakey (2011), Secretary of the HO DCL, said: "It is virtually impossible for other workers to accept the low salaries being offered them, knowing the big jumps in the salaries of

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police personnel". Miss Pearl Addo (2011), of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) asked wanted the GTUC officials to reassure members that the Congress was up to the task of getting them fair deals. The DCL passed a resolution complaining against high income tax levels on salaries and called on the government to review them. GNA The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is to begin fresh salary negotiations with the government to raise the base of workers' salaries to a more appreciable level.

That, according to the TUC, would not only improve workers' salaries as they migrate onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), but also enable them to enjoy better service conditions and a good standard of living even after retirement. The Deputy Secretary General of the TUC, Dr Yaw Baah (2011), announced this in Kumasi when he interacted with the Kumasi District Council of Labour to sensitise members on measures being taken to address the lapses in the implementation of the SSSS.

He hinted that already the leadership of the TUC had met with the ministers of Finance and Economic Planning and Employment and Social Welfare and briefed them on the pending 2011 salary negotiations of workers and drawn their attention to the problems encountered by teachers during their migration onto the SSSS. He pointed out that until the base of workers' salaries was raised to an appreciable level, there would always be chaos in the country over better conditions of service, as happened when teachers were migrated onto the SSSS.

"It is only when workers receive good salaries and better service conditions that they will be in a position to invest in their children's education and offer them brighter future prospects," he noted. Expressing concern over the low wages that had been offered workers in the country over the years, Dr
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Baah (2011), said the situation always affected workers who retired from active service, making them live in abject poverty at a time they should enjoy the fruits of their labour. The recent teachers' agitation that caused a stir across the country after their migration onto the SSSS stemmed from the fact that the base of the salaries used for the migration was too low," he said. He urged Workers to offer the needed support to the TUC as it strives to negotiate better conditions of services to with the government. Denying that the leadership of the TUC was in bed with the government, Dr. Baah (2011), said Workers interest was the prime concern of the leadership, explaining that it was only when workers had a fair share of the national cake in the form of meaningful wages that they will enjoy a better lifestyles after they retired.

He pointed out that as negotiations were ongoing, workers should be committed to their responsibilities of increasing productivity, saying, and it is only when the government proves adamant to our proposals that we will resort to industrial action to force it to yield to our request."

On the May Day Celebration, Dr. Baah (2011), urged All workers to fully participate in it to enhance its success.

Members of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) in the Eastern region have said that they will never accept the 15 percent increment in salaries since they see it as an insult to their dignity. They have therefore advised all teachers to stay away from the classroom when public schools re-open on May 3, as a protest against injustices in salary structures. We want to tell the president that 15percent is a big insult and we as members of Concerned Teachers want it to be deleted from our pay slips because we dont need it, the national coordinator of the coalition, Norbert Gborgbortsi (2011), said These when the leadership of the body addressed a press conference on developments of the
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Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for teachers at Koforidua yesterday. He said for instance, a teacher who took home a monthly salary of GH400 could not be satisfied with GH60 as an increment in his salary because it was an insult. He said What worsened matters was a comment allegedly made by a deputy Minister of Information, Baba Jamal, on Peace FMs Kokrokoo programme last Wednesday that teachers had kept quiet because they had got what they wanted from the government. We want to tell Hon Baba Jamal that we are not quiet because of the paltry 15percent his government has given to teachers, the Coalition of Concerned Teachers said.

Ako Forson (2011), a member of the coalition who also addressed the press, said the group was very disappointed when leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) said GNAT did not have the right to do sector-wide bargaining but could only do centralized bargaining under the leadership of Ghana Trades Union Congress and Fair Wages and Salary Commission.

He added that GNAT (2011), was now shifting the blame to Trades Union Congress, Fair Wages, and Salary Commission and so these bodies must seriously come clean on the SSSS. According to him, GNAT (2011), in its recent press conference, said it had proposed other allowances and would negotiate with its members. We concerned teachers are saying that GNAT could not defend the professional allowance which has been rationalized and harmonized, so what shows that it can defend clothing, risk and rent allowances, he said, stressing that it was the agitations by teachers that helped to restore the retention premium. The concerned teachers therefore expressed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of GNAT and said they would do all in their power to force the leadership out of office.

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Leaders of GNAT are our employees. We use our monies to pay them and if we are not satisfied with their services, then they should immediately leave. According to the concerned teachers, they would use the Commission on Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ) to fight their leaders and remove them from office. Members of the Yilo Krobo District branch of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) are threatening to go on strike by May 9 2011, if Government through the Fair Wages Commission fails to renew their collective bargaining certificate. They are also calling on government to pay risk and other allowances to all non-teaching staff. Speaking at a press conference at Somanya in the Eastern Region, the District Chairman of TEWU Jonathan Sangber-Dery (2011) said, The group demands current information on the daily minimum wage negotiation and how it fits into the Single Spine Pay Policy. The group is further calling on government to revisit the grading and placement system of the Single Spine Salary Structure. Jonathan Sanbger-Dery (2011), Called on the national executives of TEWU to step down from their positions and make way for fresh hands, adding that the group needs individuals who cannot be easily influenced by persons of higher authority, and will be committed to working effectively to the benefit of all members of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU). Story by Benjamin Henaku, Somanya 2011 The Ghana Trades Congress, TUC (2011), Has submitted to government a proposal for an upward review of the base pay for public sector workers under the single spine pay policy. It is the hope of the TUC that with an appreciable increase in the base pay, most of the concerns of workers would be addressed for a harmonious labour environment. Addressing a meeting of the Kumasi Council of Labour, a Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Yaw Baah (2011) noted that

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Most workers are disappointed at the Single Spine Salary Structure following the high expectations of enhanced salaries.

Citing the spontaneous reaction by some teachers across the country upon their placement on the new pay policy, Dr Baah (2011) cautioned that the low remuneration of workers could soon result in a massive social unrest in the country. He noted that, so far, 36 out of the 91 beneficiary state institutions have been successfully migrated unto the Single Spine Salary Structure and ruled out any possibility of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission completing the process by the end of this month as agreed. He said caution must be exercised in migrating the remaining two big sectors, the Ghana Health Service and Local Government Service, which together have almost 100,000 workers. Dr Baah asked workers not to use the salaries of police personnel as their reference point since the factors that went into their respective negotiations were different. He stressed that the TUC would never compromise workers welfare and urged workers to trust and support the Union in all its endeavours. Copyright 2010. Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.

2.11.3 How to Make SSSS a Blessing

According to Joseph C. Garbrah (2011) It is good to have the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for the Public and Civil Service. As a nation we have gone through quite a handful of wage and salary administration regimes and structures, especially in the public sector. One can remember the days of the Prices and Incomes Board and the frustrations in the implementation of the recommendations of the Price Waterhouse Salary Structure and the GUSS.
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What makes the SSSS regime quintessentially different, from the Human Resource Management (HR) point of view, is the establishment of the Fair Wages and Salary Commission, established by Act 737, to manage the scheme and to free Government agencies from investing unproductive man-hours in negotiating directly with their employees. The originators of the idea of the establishment of the Commission deserve special commendation. There is no disguising the fact that the implementation of the SSSS has its own challenges. It is, however, heart-warming that this time around we had the fortitude to move forward in the national interest. There have been agitations from CLOGSSAG (Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana), the Prisons Service and some other organisations. It is hoped employees would exercise restraint because job evaluation is a process. In future the possibility of combining jobs in some sectors to enhance their relative values and worth can be seriously considered for job re-evaluation. Compensation, to be sure, is an emotive issue because pay policies are critically important, for they affect every single employee, from the janitor to the CEO (Cascio, 1992:341). Anyone who has engaged in Job Evaluation exercise before can attest to the deep outpouring of emotions when results of the exercise are announced. The reactions to job evaluation results become even bitter when the expectations of the evaluation exercise are not well managed, especially at the job analysis stage. From all indications the SSSS could lead to an overall upward adjustment in the base pay of workers, initially in the public sector. But it can be a blessing or a curse depending upon its overall impact on the macroeconomic fortunes and labour productivity in Ghana. There was some euphoria surrounding the SSSS-induced high pay cheques for personnel of the Ghana Police Service. The reported huge increase in the base salaries of personnel of the service when it was
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first announced set in motion a public debate as to whether the improved remuneration of the men in uniform will produce a new Police Service. The Service hierarchy will have to do a lot of work to bring about any transformation in the service. Let us remember that this is not the first time workers are going to experience a quantum leap in their basic salaries. In 1991/2 when the Policy of Consolidation of Salaries of workers generally in Ghana was implemented there was an even more proportionate increase in workers salaries. Suddenly there were general increases in the prices of goods and services. Honestly one can remember from hindsight that there was no economically justifiable reason for the upward spiral in the prices of goods, except for greed on the part of Ghanaian traders and service providers. For example, prices of second-hand cars in Tema, especially in the early and middle 1990s, went up immediately the car loan amounts of a certain prominent multinational company in Tema were increased. This is a credible personal experience! Should Ghanaian traders and service providers respond to the salary increases resulting from the SSSS and adjust prices whimsically then the grim experiences of the 1991/2 salary increases as a result of the salary consolidation might be re-visited. That would be a self-inflicted curse. But there is an old saying that for as long as there are heads, we shall not stop wearing hats. We cannot stop increasing workers wages and salaries just because a section of the Ghanaian citizenry will cash in to reap undeserved gains. So, how do we make the SSSS a blessing for Ghana? The first reminder that we all have to note is that merely increasing the salaries of workers in the civil and public sectors will not necessarily lead to productivity in those sectors. There are even suggestions

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that the improved salaries under the SSSS will make the labour market competitive as employees in the private sector will be lured or poached into the public sector. I dare say that will be farther from reality because it is not only money that motivates. For the SSSS to be a blessing for our nation here are some proposals borne out of the writers belief in the cradle-to-grave philosophy of Human Resource (HR) Management as pertains in best-in-class private sector organisations. First, we should adopt competitive recruitment strategies to attract high calibre employees into the public service. This will involve advertising job openings, dispassionately short-listing candidates and sincerely selecting the right calibre of employees into positions. Recruitments based on protocol will have to be scrapped. Again, recruitments into non-existent positions should be avoided. Secondly, there must be a change in the work ethics of employees in the public and civil service. Reporting to work late, attending funerals during working hours and undertaking private businesses during official hours should stop. Thirdly, performance management (appraisal) systems should be diligently done. Individual objectives should be set for employees and professionally appraised. Employees who do not meet performance requirements should be de-selected from their roles. Salary increases should be strictly linked to job performance. It should not be business as usual. This leads us to the fourth important point: discipline. Discipline will lead to employee productivity. Improving productivity is not working harder, it is working smarter (Cascio, 1992, 13). CHAPTER THREE
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3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction of the study Organization This study focuses on the Ghana police service which has already undergone full implementation process of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and hence migrated from the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS). Policing or maintenance of law and order in Ghana was organized by the traditional authorities such as the local headsmen and chiefs, who employed unpaid messengers to carry out the executive and judicial functions in their respective communities. In 1821, Professional policing was introduced by the British Colonial Authorities to the Gold Coast now the Republic of Ghana which then became the Institution of Police In 1894 with the passing of the Police Ordinance which gave legal authority for the formation of a civil police force. Between 1902 and 1950 various units and departments has been formed with the formal opening of the Police Information Room in Accra by the then Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Charles Noble Arden Clark, in June 1950. By 1952, a large number of Africans had been enlisted into the Police Force as junior officers. The women branch of the service was then established, to be responsible for Juvenile crimes and offences committed by women. In 1958, the first Ghanaian Police Commissioner, Mr. E. R. T. Madjitey was appointed to head the service. The Ghana Police Service as it is now called has its motto as Service with Integrity with its main functions as stated in the Police Service Act, 1970 [Act 350] of Ghana are as follows;

Crime detection and prevention

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REFERENCES Andrew J. Schwartzman and Elliot M. Mincberg, (2010) were on the briefs for petitioner People for the American Way
Edwards, Chief Judge, and Wald, Silberman, Buck- Ley, (2011) Williams, Ginsburg,

Sentelle, Henderson, Ran- Dolph, Rogers, and Tatel, Circuit Judges

. Bruce W. Sanford and Henry S. Hoberman, (2011) were on the briefs for petitioner Society of Professional Journalists.

Christopher J. Wright, (2011)

Deputy General Counsel, Federal Communications

Commission ("FCC"), (2011) with whom William E. Kennard, General Counsel, and Daniel M. Armstrong (2011) , Associate General Counsel, FCC, and Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger and Barbara L. Herwig and Jacob M. Lewis (2011), Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice, were on the briefs, argued the cause for respondents. Jane E. Mago (2011), Clifford G. Pash, Jr., Renee Licht, and Peter Anthony Tenhula, Counsel, (2011) FCC, entered appearances for respondents.
Dennis P. Corbett, Laura B. Humphries, and Steven A. Lerman, (2011) were on the briefs

for petitioner Infinity Broadcasting Corporation.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge WALD, in which Circuit Judges ROGERS and

TATEL join (2011).

Dissenting opinion filed by Chief Judge EDWARDS (2011).

48

Eric M. Lieberman, (2010), with whom Thomas C. Viles and John P. Crigler were on the briefs, argued the cause for petitioner Pacifica Foundation. Henry L. Bauman, (2011) was on the briefs for petitioner National Association of Broadcasters.

Fair Wages and Salaries Commission(2010),Facts Sheet on the Single Spine Pay Policy Henry L. Bauman, (2011) was on the briefs for petitioner National Association of Broadcasters.

James J. Popham(2010) was on the briefs for petitioner The Association of Independent

Television Stations, Inc. James Addison(2010),Contemporary Issues Worth Knowing

Jane E. Kirtley, (2010) was on the briefs for petitioner Reporters Committee for Freedom

of the Press.
Joseph L. Scharff, (2010) was on the briefs for petitioner Radio- Television News Directors

Association.
Marjorie Heins, (2010) was on the briefs for petitioner American Civil Liberties Union.

Steven R. Shapiro entered an appearance.

Molly Pauker, (2010) was on the briefs for petitioner Fox Television Stations, Inc. Martin Wald and Jonathan D. Blake, (2010) entered appearances for petitioner Post-

Newsweek Stations, Inc.

Nancy H. Hendry and Paula A. Jameson, (2010) were on the briefs for petitioner Public

Broadcasting Service.
Opinion for the Court Filed by Circuit Judge Buckley, (2011) in Which Circuit Judges

Silberman, Williams, Ginsburg, Sen- Telle, HendersoN, and RANDOLPH concur.

Petitions for Review of an Order of the Federal Communications Commission 49

 Timothy B. Dyk, (2010) with who Barbara McDowell was on the briefs, argued the cause

for petitioners Action for Children's Television, et al.

Theodore A. Miles, (2010) was on the briefs for petitioner National Public Radio. Karen

Christensen entered an appearance. APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire for the Ghana Police Service, under the Public Service of Ghana. RESEARCH TOPIC The Single Spine Salary Structure a Panacea to Improving the Condition of Service in the Public Service: A Case Study of the Ghana Police Service, Head Office Branch. Please tick the appropriate box or fill in the blank spaces where applicable and indicate your response for the appropriate questionnaire.

Section 1
1. Age: 31 40 41 50 51 60 Above 60 2. Sex: Male Female 21 30

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3. Educational Background: Ordinary Level Advance Level S.S.S.C.E Level University Graduate Post University Graduate

4. Occupational Status/ Position: C.I.D

D.S.P A.S.P Inspector Chief Inspector Any Other

5. Marital Status:

Married

Single Divorced Widowed

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6. Length of service:

0 5 years

5 10 years 10 15 years Above 15 years

7. Number of dependents: 1- 3 4- 6 Above 6

Section 2
8. What do you understand by the term Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS)?
a. A distinct pay plan whereby employees in the same pay scale are paid equally b. A salary structure which introduce a level of fairness in the salary levels of public servants

of Ghana
c. A politically related payment system of the country workable only for the civil servants of

Ghana
d. All of the above

e. None of the above

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9. Would you agree to the claim that the Single Spine Salary Structure plays a major role of rendering financial freedom to the Ghana Police Service as well as the entire civil service of the nation? Yes No No Idea

10. Would you say the Single Spine Salary Structure has so far, favoured every civil servant

here in Ghana especially personnel with the Ghana Police Service in all areas ever since its inception? Yes No No Idea

11. In your own view, would you agree to the fact that, fairness in the effective operation of

the Single Spine Salary Structure has not yet been established? Yes No No Idea

12. The Single Spine Salary Structure of Ghana seems to be going through a lot of serious

challenges, has these challenges affected the system of salaries payment with the Ghana Police Service in any way? Yes No No Idea

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13. If yes to question 13, would you agree to the assertion that the SSSS system for the Ghana

Police Service will in the near future encounter serious difficult after the term of the NDC government? Yes No No Idea

14. Would you guarantee the fact that, the condition of service for all civil servants especially

for that of the Ghana Police Service could improve if all the challenges of the SSSS are solved? Yes No No Idea

15. Do you agree to the claims that, the operation of the Single Spine Salary Structure of

Ghana has highly been politicized and this is greatly hindering other civil servants in the opposition parties from its full benefit? Yes No No Idea

16. If yes, to question 16, can it then be concluded that there is no absolute fairness in the

operation of the Single Spine Salary Structure for civil servant by the Ghanaian government? Yes No No Idea

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17. Apart from improving the condition of service of the public servicing, do you think the

Single Spine Salary Structure can otherwise resolve the living standards of the Ghanaian civil servant? Yes No No Idea

18. As a civil servant working for the Ghana Police Service, would you say the Single Spine

Salary Structure is really a panacea to improving the condition of service in the public service and why?

19. In your on view, is there anything about the operation of the Single Spine Salary Structure

you would not want to be encouraged or is there anything you will like to be encouraged?
20. What is your candid advice to the government and other authorities managing the Single

Spine Salary Structure regarding the challenges so far encountered, in the smooth operation of the SSSS for Ghanaian civil servants?

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Section 3
Interview guide for the Ghana Police Service, under the Public Service of Ghana.
1. What do you understand by the Single Spine Salary Structure for Ghanaian civil servants?

2. Would you encourage this system of salary structure for the civil service of Ghana?
3. Has this system of salary structure, helped to improve the condition of service of the

Ghanaian public service and why?

4. Do you think the government has not been fair to other public servants, since all attention

has been placed on personals in the Ghana Police Service only?

5. How true is it that the operation of the Single Spine Salary Structure for Ghanaian civil

servants has highly been politicized?

6. Are there any challenges, been faced so far in the effective operation of the Single Spine

Salary Structure for the civil servants of Ghana? 7. Can these challenges be effectively solved without any political interference?

8. Has this system of salary structure been successfully applied in any other country apart

from Ghana?

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9. It is strongly believed that, the Single Spine Salary Structure would not be effectively

practiced after the term of office of the ruling government thus the NDC here in Ghana?
10. What is your own candid advice you will like to give to the government of Ghana

concerning the successful operation of the Single Spine Salary Structure?

Thanks for your cooperation.

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