The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission has described the planned strike announced on Thursday August 15 by the Federation of University Senior Staff Association of Ghana (FUSSAG), as illegal.

Director of Negotiation and Grievances at the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Cornelius Yawson, said demands by FUSSAG are unfounded and indicated that the Commission will not negotiate with them.

FUSSAG is demanding, among others, an immediate adjustment of their 2013 base pay, the extension of market premium to senior staff of public universities and the restoration of special allowances.

But Mr Yawson said "all the issues they have put on the table are non-issues. The interim market premiums are given to those who already had an element of market premium in their salary."

Explaining further, he said during migration of workers on government payroll onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), there was a need to "take cognizance of what they had [market premium] and mark it...as 'interim market premium' - stressing FUSSAG did not fall in that category of workers.

He said the government's whitepaper released not too long ago, indicated clearly that the interim market premium arranged has ceased.

"So based on what do you go on strike...asking for interim market premium?" He asked the FUSSAG members.

However, General Secretary of FUSSAG, Jacob Eshun, told Joy News they will go ahead with the strike.

The National Executive Council (NEC) of FUSSAG took the decision to go on strike on August 19 at an emergency meeting on Thursday, August 15, 2013.

FUSSAG said it will withdraw the services of "all senior staff including nurses, pharmacists, hospital laboratory technologists, school teachers, cashiers and security officers".