Fair Wages and Salaries Commission Urges GNAT to Suspend Planned Strike Over Conditions of Service

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has appealed to the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) to shelve its planned industrial action and continue negotiations with the government over concerns regarding teachers’ conditions of service.

The appeal follows a one-week notice issued by GNAT announcing its intention to embark on a strike if its concerns are not addressed.

In a social media post on Friday, July 17, the FWSC acknowledged the significant role teachers play in national development and assured teachers, parents, learners and the general public that the welfare of educators remains a priority for the government.

“Every classroom shapes Ghana’s future, and every teacher plays a vital role in building the nation’s human capital,” the Commission stated.

The FWSC explained that the government is currently implementing one of the most significant reforms of the public sector remuneration system since the introduction of the Single Spine Pay Policy.

According to the Commission, the reforms will lead to the establishment of the Independent Emoluments Commission (IEC), which is expected to create a fairer, more transparent and sustainable pay system across the public service.

It said the objective of the reforms was not to delay addressing workers’ concerns but to tackle longstanding challenges within the remuneration structure, including wage distortions, inequalities, overlapping allowances and inconsistencies in conditions of service.

“Addressing these through isolated interventions may unintentionally create new disparities,” the Commission noted.

The FWSC said government had held extensive engagements with organised labour and adopted a transitional approach aimed at maintaining stability while the institutional reforms are completed.

It added that interim arrangements had been concluded across almost the entire public sector, after which a comprehensive review of remuneration and conditions of service would be undertaken under the new IEC framework.

The Commission recognised that teachers have legitimate concerns, including issues relating to incentives for workers in rural and deprived areas, but noted that such matters affect several categories of public servants beyond the education sector.

It further admitted that the current remuneration system has not fully achieved the objectives of the Single Spine Pay Policy, particularly regarding equity, transparency, and linking compensation to performance and productivity.The FWSC said the ongoing reforms are designed to address these challenges in a sustainable manner.

The Commission also announced that a national stakeholder engagement on the establishment of the Independent Emoluments Commission is scheduled for early August.

The meeting, it said, will help refine the roadmap for implementing the new remuneration framework while providing an opportunity for continued dialogue among stakeholders.

The FWSC urged teachers to continue engaging government through dialogue, expressing confidence that collaboration would help build a remuneration system that benefits both current and future public sector workers.

It reaffirmed government’s commitment to fairness, equity, transparency and sustainability in public sector remuneration while calling for industrial harmony.