“Single Spine implementation not deferred”

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) says its attention has been drawn to a publication on the back page of the 21st October, 2010 issue of The New Crusading Guide on the subject: Single Spine to be Deferred attributed to the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Fiifi Kwettey who has since denied making the claim.

The FWSC says as far as its records indicate, there is no intention by the Government to defer the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) to 2011 as stated in the said publication.

A statement signed by Mr. George Smith-Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the Commission said rather, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has so far received tremendous support from the Government to ensure the smooth implementation of the SSSS.

The commission pointed out that the implementation of the SSSS is not a one-time event but a process, which fact is buttressed by the Government White Paper on the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy, which indicates that the Policy will be implemented in phases over a period of five (5) years.

It sais considering the enormity of the implementation process, it is an acceptable fact that not all institutions (over 100) can be migrated onto the SSSS at a go, explaining that the initial mapping of individual jobholders onto the Single Spine Grade Structure would have to be done first by individual institutions.

According to the commission, institutions that have successfully completed the mapping of their employees so far have been migrated onto the SSSS.

The commission observed that the mapping exercise by the institutions is very slow due to some genuine challenges they are facing, which the FWSC is helping to resolve but emphasized that the Government is still committed to the effective implementation date of 1st January, 2010.

“We, at the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission continue to acknowledge the support so far received from our cherished Stakeholders, including Organised Labour, Associations and Institutions for the effective implementation of the Pay Policy.

“We wish to give assurance to our Stakeholders that the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy is on course.”

About the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) was established by government in June 2007 through an Act of Parliament (Act 737, 2007) in anticipation of an effective implementation of the New Pay Policy, the Single Spine Salary Structure that seeks to promote equity and fairness in the salary administration for the public sector.

The mandate of the commission includes ensuring a fair, transparent and systematic implementation of the Government public service pay policy in a sustainable manner.

About Single Spine Pay Policy

Ghana’s public service pay administration has over the years been plagued with distortions. In 2005 government appointed a consultant – Co-En Consulting, to advise on a sustainable pay policy. At the end of its assignment the consultant proposed a Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) to resolve the distortions in the government pay administrative system

Government accepted the consultant’s recommendation and adopted the Single Spine Pay Policy as the most appropriate Pay Policy for the public sector.