Review our cost of living allowance to 27% -Concerned Teachers to gov't

Government increased base pay of public sector workers by 4% and 7% for 2021 and 2022 respectively

The increment is insignificant, Coalition of Concerned Teachers say

Coalition of Concerned Teachers want a renewal of Single Spine Salary Structure

The Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) has asked the government to upwardly review their cost of living allowance in the

Read full articleensuing year, 2022 to 27 percent.

According to the group, the current economic hardships make the base pay increment government proposed insignificant.

The government this year increased the base pay of public sector workers by 4% and 7% for 2021 and 2022 respectively.

However, this was greeted with strong opposition as some aggrieved public sector workers embarked on a series of demonstrations across the country to register their displeasure against the proposal.

The national minimum wage was additionally increased by 6 percent for 2021 and 8 percent for 2022.

But in an interview with GhanaWeb, Deputy Communications Director of CCT, Frank Gyekye mentioned that the prevailing economic challenges have negated the increment.

He thus charged the leadership of Organized Labour to begin engagement with the government to increase their allowances to 27 percent.

“If you look at the economic situation in the country, it is difficult for workers to live with this 4% and 7%. 2021 has almost ended but going into 2022, the 7% is not sustainable. In view of this, we are asking government to do something about it because the cost of living has increased. And so what we are calling for is that Organized Labour should meet once again and negotiate the cost of living allowance (COLA) and the coalition is proposing 20% that should government agree with organized labour, then we’d have 20% to be added to the 7% come 2022,” he said.

Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS)

Mr. Frank Gyekye also tasked the government to, through the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, renew the single spine salary structure stating that the current remuneration package is “dead”.

“We are of the opinion that the life span of the single spine is dead. It’s been more than 10 years and the law is that after every 10 years we have to renegotiate the single spine. But as we speak we have not seen anything about it. So we are asking the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to invite stakeholders and see how best we are able to restructure the single spine to serve workers in this country.

We don’t have to leave it as it is because there is a widening gap between the salaries we are taking as teachers as compared to some other sectors who are also under the government payroll,” he emphasized.

The Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) is one of the major components of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP) introduced by the Government of Ghana and implemented in 2010, to regulate the payment of public service workers especially those under article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.