Dr Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, has called for a public sector pay framework that balances fair remuneration with the state’s fiscal capacity.

He said remuneration should be fair, decent and reflective of workers’ contributions to national development while remaining fiscally responsible and sustainable.

Dr Pelpuo made the call on Thursday at the opening of a two-day stakeholder engagement between the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and Organised Labour in Accra on the proposed transition from the FWSC to the Independent Public Emoluments Commission (IPEC).

The engagement is to gather inputs from Organised Labour on the draft IPEC Bill before it is laid before Parliament.

The proposed legislation will repeal the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission Act, 2007 (Act 737), and establish IPEC as the institution responsible for Ghana’s public sector compensation framework.

Dr Pelpuo said the proposed Commission presented an opportunity to strengthen the institutional framework for determining and managing public sector emoluments.

“The transition must, however, be carefully considered to ensure that the new framework promotes fairness, independence, transparency, consistency and accountability,” he said.

The Minister said Government recognised Organised Labour as a critical partner in national development, stressing that workers’ views and concerns must inform the proposed framework.

“We must pursue an approach that links compensation to economic realities, productivity, public service performance and the ability of the state to meet its obligations,” he said.

Dr Pelpuo assured participants that concerns and recommendations from the consultations would receive due consideration in developing an effective and sustainable public compensation framework.

Dr George Smith-Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, said the transition to IPEC should go beyond changing the name of an institution and instead establish a stronger and more credible compensation system.

He said years of implementing the Single Spine Pay Policy had revealed challenges, including disparities in allowances and conditions of service, internal pay relativities, attraction and retention of critical skills, and the need to align compensation with productivity.

“The proposed IPEC should therefore not be understood as a departure from the journey we have travelled. It should represent the next generation of public compensation governance,” he said.

Dr Smith-Graham said the consultation was intended to shape the legislation rather than endorse decisions already taken.

“Our purpose is not to manufacture consensus where real differences exist. It is to understand those differences, test our proposals against evidence and build a compensation system that commands legitimacy across the public sector,” he said.

Mr Joshua Ansah, Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, speaking on behalf of Organised Labour, welcomed the initiative but called for a comprehensive approach to the reforms.

He urged Government to involve Organised Labour throughout the process to ensure broad ownership of the new compensation framework.

“We don’t want a situation where it will be a piecemeal approach. It should be a holistic approach so that what is good for the goose must also be good for the gander,” he said.

Mr Ansah said Organised Labour would closely monitor the reform process and work with Government to establish a fair, transparent and equitable public sector pay system.

The proposed IPEC is expected to oversee the determination and management of public sector emoluments under a framework anchored on fairness, transparency, consistency, accountability and fiscal sustainability.