FWSC to investigate SSSS placement complaints by Police Hospital civilian staff
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) is to investigate complaints by civilian members of staff of the Police Hospital about their grading and placement on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
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The Chief Executive of the commission, Mr George Smith-Graham, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, also condemned acts of intimidation against civilians who wanted clarification on their placement on the SSSS.
According to some of the civilian staff who wanted to remain anonymous, they were grouped together and treated as orderlies with questionable earnings on the SSSS.
Ungraded civilians
They said they were not able to freely demand responses to their request for explanation on the grading and placement, because some senior police personnel and administrators of the hospital threaten to sack them if they insisted.
A carpenter in the carpentry department, a mechanic with the engineering department, a refrigeration repairer and a ward assistant, have all been graded and placed on the spine as orderlies, who earn the lowest salaries of averagely GH¢300.
There was no consideration given to the different skills and capabilities required in the performance of each of the functions.
For instance, a ward assistant at the maternity block who dusts, lays out instruments for medical procedures, assists in delivery and the washing of babies and mothers is paired similarly with all others, including storekeepers, carpenters and cleaners.
Those who complained to the Daily Graphic maintained that their skills levels were not factored into the grading and placement on the SSSS.
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The migration onto the SSSS, also did not recognise the special ability of physical strength required by those in the engineering department to fix machines and vehicles, as well as the special knowledge required in engineering.
Training
Another issue complained about was the absence of any process at the hospital for civilian personnel to train, upgrade, and move through the levels on the structure to benefit from the opportunities that the SSSS which is performance-based, provided.
For some of the personnel, they had seen no training room since their engagement to serve at the hospital more than 10 years ago.
The paymaster of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) George Dampare, referred the paper to the FWSC, while administrators of the hospital insisted on adhering to the procedure of the Public Relations Directorate speaking about the issue.