Zero strikes is the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s goal by 2024

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has expressed its commitment to settling salary-related disputes within the public sector.

This commitment follows recent industrial actions by public sector workers over conditions of service and other related issues.

Speaking to Citi News on its Operation Zero Strikes in the public sector initiative, the Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Benjamin Arthur, emphasized the need for a collaborative approach to strengthening ties between public sector workers and the government.

“When we have a lot of chaos in the country, especially on the industrial relations front, it takes us back, which is not a good thing at all. It strains relationships and delays development and so obviously, if we want to go forward, we do not wait for disputes to arise before we begin to put in place dispute resolution mechanisms.”

2023 was a hard year for public service as many associations withdrew their services, mostly over poor conditions of service.

The Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) declared an indefinite strike in May 2023 over the government’s failure to approve a reviewed salaries and other allowances of its members.

The Senior Staff Association and the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union at the University of Ghana in Decemeber 2023 also threatened to lay down their tools if management failed to pay their arrears of Interim Market Premium for some staff.

2024 on the labour front started on a rocky note with the Senior Staff Association—Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) urging the government to proceed with clearing Tier-2 contributions of its members, else its members will embark on an industrial action on January 15, 2024.

Technical University Senior Administrators’ Association of Ghana (TUSAAG) also declared a nationwide strike effective Monday, January 8, 2024, to demand full compliance with their retirement roll-over date.