Koforidua, Nov. 22, GNA - Mr George Smith Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), on Monday disclosed that 15 institutions would be put on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS), this Month with others coming on board in December this year.

Mr Graham said the FWSC would discharge its functions fairly and effectively, and that, it would not discriminate against any institution or group of workers as being perceived by some public workers. He has therefore assured the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) of the FWSC preparedness to dialogue with them to find a lasting solution to their grievances.

Mr Graham made the announcement at a stakeholders' meeting of Polytechnic Council Chairmen and Rectors in Koforidua to find a lasting solution to the grievances and concerns of POTAG. He said the impression being created by members of POTAG that the Commission was not prepared to initiate the process of negotiation on conditions and terms of service with them was not correct. Mr Graham said what the Commission wanted to do was to ensure that all the necessary things were done in respect of other unions within the polytechnic so that after the implementation of the new salary structure nobody would claim they were worse of. POTAG members embarked on five weeks industrial strike to demand better conditions of service

He said workers should put the blame for the delay in the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP), at the doorsteps of heads of their institutions and not the commission. Mr Graham said some heads of some institutions had failed to submit the necessary information and documentation to the commission to guide them in the implementation, hence the delay.

He said the Commission was waiting for the "go ahead" from the Accountant General Department about institutions that had completed their negotiations and had been cleared to put them on board. Mr Graham said there were 110 salary structures in the system with a lot of "ghosts" names and if care was not taken to scrutinize them well, more money would be paid into wrong hands, which would not benefit the state.

He urged workers to exercise patience since every worker would not be left out.

Earlier in a submission, the President of POTAG, Mr Godfred Abledu, accused the FWSC for not opening their doors for them to initiate a process of negotiating their terms of conditions and services which expired in 2008. Mr Abledu said a negative impression was created by the FWSC to Parliament, National Security and the general public that in the polytechnic, promotion was based on long service and that the lectures hold Higher National Diploma (HND) and not Degree holders.

He said it was for that reasons that the FWSC did not see the justification for comparing Polytechnics to other Tertiary Institutions. Mr Abledu therefore requested that POTAG be given the opportunity to negotiate on its conditions and terms of service before migrating to the SSSS or migrate to the "tertiary salary structure". 22 Nov. 10