Public sector workers can demand higher wages – Economist

Dr Patrick Asuming, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), has justified the calls for higher wages by public sector workers.

Public sector workers want an increase in salary by a margin not less than 19%, according to reports.

The Economist stated that workers in the public sector have been worse off as their salaries have been crippled by the cost of living in the country.

According to him, from January 2021 up to now, salaries of public sector workers have increased by 11% as against a 28% increase in the cost of living.

Speaking on JoyNews on Thursday, he said: “If you look at the cost of living from January 2021 up till now, based on the CPI release, you’ll notice that the cost of living has gone up about 28%.

“Over that same period, the public sector pay has gone up by just over 11%. So from that standpoint, there has been an erosion of real wages by 15%. So you can understand why the public sector will clamor for wages.”

He made the comments while addressing the issue of inequality between the output and earning of public sector workers, a subject raised by Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim.

Professor Samuel Kobina Annim stated that currently, there is no way to measure the output of workers, therefore, making the growth of GDP difficult.

In view of his submission, Dr Patrick Asuming entreated public sector workers to juxtapose an increase in salary with increase in productivity. 

He explained that an increase in salary without output rising will exacerbate the country’s inflation rate.

“If we grant these wages and assume that it doesn’t come with additional productivity, you could actually end up fueling inflation further. Because you are going to have several people having more money to spend and if they are not generating additional output, then we end up in a situation where more money is chasing fewer goods.”

Dr Patrick Asuming continued: “Even with the Single Spine, it wasn’t just about increase in wages but it is supposed to have a productivity element that should be monitored.”

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. It was implemented in 2010, to regulate the payment of public service workers.

As of April, 2022, the Ghana Statistical Service stated that Ghana’s inflation stood at 23.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, has stated that his outfit supports calls for the salaries of public sector workers to be increased by a margin not less than 19%.

source: theindependentghana.com