Mr Peter K. Lumor, National Chairman of the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), has reminded workers of the changing face of work and urged them to be abreast with time if they want to remain in employment.
“The introduction of Information Communication Technology (ICT), into the world of work, means a lot to working people while it makes the work easier, it will throw some of us out of work if we do not rise to the challenge and retrain and retool ourselves”.
Mr Lumor, who was addressing the Eastern Regional Delegates Conference of the Union in Koforidua on Thursday said, the workers could not look at the past and wished that things remained the way they were.
He told the delegates that the conference offered them the opportunity to evaluate the Union and reposition it to deal with the challenges that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), ACT 2007 (ACT 737) together with the Labour Commission Act 2003 (ACT 651) posed to them as a trade union.
“In our deliberation, let us critically look at the implementation of the Single Spine Pay policy (SSPP), within our sector and make suggestions for implementation.
“We need also to look at the entire labour scene in the country reviewing it to place our union in a positive position to deal with the future challenges,” Mr Lumor said.
He indicated that the FWSC for example had introduced new system of negotiating Salaries and Conditions of Service, adding that many of the negotiations had now been centralized and workers needed to get conversant with those new systems.
Mr Mahammadu S. Bogobiri, Deputy General Secretary of TEWU, told the delegates that discussion between the FWSC, management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and TEWU on the payment of the 15 per cent Retention Premium to the Non-Teaching Personnel was on-going.
“It is expected that discussion would be concluded soon and that the agreement and the resultant arrears would be implemented at the end of May, 2011”.
He, therefore, assured members in the GES that TEWU in collaboration with other stakeholders were working constructively to resolve all the issues connected to both the SSSS and review of the expired Conditions of Service.
“We also wish to inform our members in the public universities, polytechnics and other tertiary and subvented institutions that the Union is in touch with the authorities to decide on the implementation of the SSSS and thereafter review their expired Conditions of Service”
Mr Bogobiri indicated that TEWU as part of organized labour would continue to ensure that the salary structure was improved by negotiated base pay and pay-point relatively with the passing of each year.