The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has described threats of strike issued by doctors and university teachers nationwide, as moves to stampede the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure. The doctors have handed the Commission a week's ultimatum to meet their demands or they will stop working. The University Teachers Association is also pressing for their salary arrears for 2012 to be paid or they will also embark on a strike by April 2, 2013. But Chief Executive of the Commission, George Smith Graham says his outfit will not give in to their demands. Speaking Thursday on the AM Show on the Joy News TV channel on Multi TV, Mr. Graham said in the past government ceded the responsibility of negotiations to the management of the institutions but because of the incentives these management received after negotiations, they were tempted to be lenient in the negotiations or give preferential treatment to some institutions. He explained that in the past, influential of labour unions were able to leave the negotiating table with whatever they wanted, therefore the SSSS was instituted to solve that inconsistency. His belief was that because earlier negotiating arrangements favoured some unions, they are working to obstruct the SSSS. Paul Abrampah, a Senior Programmes Officer at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), however, believes labour authorities needed to set clear benchmarks including timetable for salary negotiations and the settlement of disputes. Mr. Abrampah believes one of the main reasons why labour groups are going on strike is that in the current era of economic difficulties, government is withdrawing some allowances and delaying in the payment of salaries, while at the same time increasing the salaries of parliamentarians and other government officials. Mohammed Affum a former Public Relations officer on his part pointed that the way forward would be to allow the FWSC to do their job. Mr Affum opined that there was no need for government to meddle in the business of the Commission by inviting labour unions for negotiations. His opinion was that sometimes government creates problems for itself. According to him, “Government has set up the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to negotiate with public sector unions. Why should the chief of staff get involved? Why should the President get involved?" The authority of the institutions mandated to do the job of negotiations,in his view, is at once undermined when government get involved.