Acting Director of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Earl Ankrah, has revealed that measuring productivity among public sector workers is not currently part in determining salary payments.

Mr Ankrah indicated that although there has been some conversations around the inclusion and implementation of productivity as a measuring tool for workers’ efficiency, it is yet to be operationalized. He recounted that during discussions on the Single Spine pay policy sometime back there were some clamouring and complaint from the public that the work culture in the public sector wasn’t encouraging.

It was at that moment, Mr Ankrah explained, talks came up that there was the need for public sector reforms.

Productivity was glove-in-hand [and] part of the Single Spine Pay Policy. So, although we are yet to roll in this phase, we have not actually gone into it. It is not part of the salary. If you pick up a public servant’s pay slip, you find the base pay, you find the allowances that they are entitled to.”
Earl Ankrak

Commenting on what workers are currently being measured on, Mr Ankrah noted that although some institutions are measuring workers performance based on productivity as well, there’s a lot more to be done. He indicated that workers cannot be blamed for not currently been measured on productivity.

“At the moment it is based on what roles they are performing. Of course, to get on the Single Spine Salary structure there are thirteen factors of job evaluation that we look into and then you’re place on the structure [and] that determines what salary you earn. Let’s remember around April every year, the parties go to the table and negotiate for your base pay for the coming year. So, that’s mostly what happens.”
Earl Ankrah

Productivity among workers

On his part, the General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Titus Beyuo, disclosed that public sector workers cannot be blamed for their deficient productivity. He emphasized that the majority of the blame should be placed at the doorstep of the employer and not the workers.

“The issue of productivity has never been lost on the worker and I’m aware that as part of the Single Spine, productivity was seriously discussed when we evaluated the work on about 13 point scale, productivity was discussed…”
Dr Titus Beyuo

Dr Beyuo revealed that in the private sector, when the right caliber of people and the right number for the right job are hired with the right salary, only then can productivity be demanded. He noted that employers must set the KPIs and create the environment, and if workers “don’t meet it you fire them”.

“People are hiring and using numbers for political gain. I employed 70,000 nurses, you employed 50,000 nurses. Was it based on any staff norms or staffing norms? I’ve engaged 70,000 teachers, you’ve engaged 60,000 teachers; was it based on any staffing norms? Did we set any KPIs for them? Have we challenged the Ghanaian worker to produce and the person has not been able to produce as much as you wish? Did you create that environment?”
Dr Titus Beyuo