The Deputy Education Minister Mahama Ayariga has dismissed assertions that teachers are worse off under the new pay policy, the single spine salary structure. Teachers across the country have threatened a nationwide sit-down strike after widespread distortions in their salaries released in February under the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS). The teachers were expecting an improved and enhanced salary under the much publicised single spine but were utterly shocked to notice that their salaries had either being halved or were lower than the preceding month. They have accused the Fair Wages Commission of among other things failing to include their Professional Allowance in the build up of the SSSS and have threatened to disrupt the 54th Independence Day Celebration if government does not yield to their demands to review the salaries. But speaking on Joy FM’s News analysis programme News file the deputy Education Minister Mahama Ayariga stated that the agitations by the teachers are a misunderstanding of the issues. He stated emphatically that based on adjustments made under the SSSS no teacher will receive lower salaries than previous months. Chronicling the adjustments, he said the levels of all teachers have been raised by two so that if a teacher is on grade two salary, he or she automatically is placed on a grade four salary. Far from the allegations that the Professional Allowance has been scrapped, the deputy minister said it has not only been consolidated in their basic salary but has been increased to 15 per cent of the teacher’s basic pay. He also added that the Fair Wages and Salary Commission have increased the salaries of teachers by ten per cent across board, stating, “If you go to the bank and you are getting anything less than what you got in January, that is definitely and conclusively a technical error.” “No teacher out of the 277, 474 teachers, not one single teacher, is going to get anything less than what he or she got in January 2011...or will get the same salary,” he pointed out. He adviced all teachers who have had their salaries lower than previous to report it to the technical committee for rectification. But the Member of Parliament for Manhyia, Mathew Opoku Prempeh who was also on the show chided the remarks of the minister. “I am not sure he wants to say the teachers don’t know what they are about; I am not sure he is saying that teachers have gone on demonstration without knowledge, he stated. “Most of the serious educational information, census, registration we send around, we use teachers to educate the public and now he is saying teachers cannot educate themselves on their own salaries,” he said. He said with the huge promises provided by President John Mills in the NDC manifesto and the budgets to the teachers there is absolute no justification for the teachers to be on the streets agitating over salaries. Play the attached audio for excerpts of the comments Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana