The government has paid ¢721.4 billion as February salaries of Ghana Education Service (GES) employees nation-wide, as part of the implementation of a new scheme of service and a new salary structure for the GES.

This is contrary to rumours that the February salaries of GES employees will be paid on March 15, 2007.

"Even though the Controller and Accountant General issued a statement last week to the effect that, February salaries of GES employees will be paid by the end of the month, payment vouchers were dispatched to the regions on Monday, February 26, which allowed employees, including teaching and non-teaching members of staff to access their salaries," the GES Financial Controller, Isaac Otoo, told the Times, on Friday.

He said, at the end of January, salaries paid amounted to ¢425.7 billion which led to salary arrears of ¢295.7 billion as a result of the implementation of the new scheme of service and new salary structure which took effect from October last year and January, this year respectively.

Mr. Otoo recalled that late last year, there were agitations among GES workers for an enhanced salary scheme which prompted GES management to hold negotiations with the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).

At the end of negotiations, two major decisions: implementation of new scheme of services and new salary structure, were taken to address the workers’ concerns, he said adding that the implementation of the scheme of service actually led to the creation of two additional salary levels, Assistant Director I and Deputy Director.

Mr. Otoo said, all categories of employees including teaching and non-teaching staff benefitted from the implementation of the new salary structure.

He expressed gratitude to members of staff of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) division of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department and the GES who worked tirelessly to get the implementation of the new scheme of service and salary structure on track.

He however said the implementation of the new scheme is bound to experience a few problems and appealed to GES employees, particularly, teachers who may have encountered problems not to hesitate to contact the GES IPPD to rectify the anomaly.

Times