President John Mahama has pledged to review the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and pension arrangements as part of government efforts to address the concerns of public sector workers.
The President made the commitment while addressing the opening of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) 54th National Delegates Congress and Seventh Quadrennial Conference in Accra. The conference was held under the theme: “Education and Development: The Ghana Education Service (GES) at 50 – Reflecting, Reviewing, Revising, and Growing the Profession and the Unions.”
The Single Spine Salary Structure is a public-sector pay system designed to standardise wages and promote fairness and transparency by placing jobs on a unified salary scale.
President Mahama recalled that the policy was introduced by the Kufuor administration, but negotiations were incomplete before the 2008 elections, which brought Professor John Evans Atta Mills to power with Mr Mahama as Vice President.
He said the outgoing administration had implemented a lump-sum salary increment and imposed the Single Spine system shortly before leaving office, a move that organised labour, led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), declined to accept without further negotiations.
“As a result, the negotiations took quite some time. Eventually, we arrived at a working spine. It was not exactly straight perhaps a bit crooked but at least everybody got something,” the President said.
He noted that salary arrears were subsequently paid and the system stabilised before the government left office in 2016. However, he admitted that the structure has since become increasingly problematic.
“Today, the spine is very crooked, and everybody is unhappy,” he said.
President Mahama revealed that the TUC has raised concerns about the current state of the SSSS and formally requested a comprehensive review.
He assured organised labour that government is willing to revisit the salary structure to ensure fair and improved remuneration, which he said would enable public sector workers to perform at their best.
On pensions, President Mahama recalled that earlier pension reforms introducing Tier 2 and Tier 3 schemes were initially well received but acknowledged that current realities demand a fresh review.
“It looks like the time has come for us to look at the pension system again,” he said.
He disclosed that the TUC has already engaged the government on the issue and that he has assured the TUC Secretary-General, Joshua Ansah, of government’s readiness to establish a technical committee to review the entire pension framework.
The committee, he said, will be tasked with proposing reforms aimed at improving retirement security and restoring confidence among workers.
In his welcome address, the National President of GNAT, Reverend Isaac Owusu, appealed to the President to prioritise an immediate review of the Single Spine pay policy within the year to align with the government’s Resetting Agenda.
“We are resetting Ghana, and the pay policy must reflect that Resetting Agenda,” he said. “It is essential that we advocate for improved salaries and benefits that recognise the critical role teachers play in shaping our society.”
“A well-motivated teacher, Your Excellency, is more productive, and this directly translates into better learning outcomes for our students,” he added.
