The Deputy Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Joshua Ansah has condemned the Single Spine Salary Structure used to determine the wages of public sector workers.

He said the pay scale is not fit for purpose.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, Mr Ansah stated that the “single spine pay structure is the most indecent pay structure in the country.”

“The Single Spine Salary Structure is unfair and we want to change that this time round. Gone are the days when we accepted the four and seven per cent. I believe that we don’t have to make that same mistake this time round. That is why we are demanding that we will not take anything below 60%,” he added.

This comes in the wake of Organised Labour rejecting the government’s proposed 18% salary increment. They rather increased their demand from 60% to 65%.

According to the Deputy Secretary General of TUC, the demand by Organised Labour is in order.

This, Mr Ansah explained, is because the Single Spine Salary Structure, per law, “states that the base pay – the first step on the single spine shouldn’t be less than the minimum wage.

“But as we speak, the first step in the Single Spine Structure is less than the minimum wage.”

As a result, he urged government to adjust the base pay to the level of the minimum wage.

“As I speak the minimum wage is 14.88, and the base pay as I speak to you is 11 cedis 33 pesewas. So the first thing government has to do is to bring the 11 cedis 33 pesewas to 14. 88. That alone gives you about 34%.”

He continued, “the law says that the base pay - the first step must be 10% higher than the minimum wage. So you add the 10% so that the base pay will be 16 cedis above instead of the 14.88. Then you are already paying a COLA of 15%, add that COLA to the 34% and you are already around 59 point something per cent and that makes the 60% we are asking for.”