Ghana has suffered significant economic losses due to labour strikes, with 22 actions in 2024 alone costing the state GHC1.47 billion, George Smith Graham has revealed. The losses continued into 2025, where eight strikes accounted for an additional GHC635 million in disruption.
Dr Graham made the disclosure during a meeting between President John Dramani Mahama and organised labour on Tuesday, stressing the urgent need for structural reforms in public sector remuneration. He described the current Single Spine Pay Structure (SSPS) as increasingly fragmented and unsustainable, with salary disparities and disproportionate allowances fueling recurrent disputes.
To address these challenges, Dr Graham pledged the FWSC’s support for the newly proposed Independent Emoluments Commission, which is intended to manage public sector pay professionally, independently, and transparently. He emphasized that the success of the commission would require close collaboration with labour unions to ensure fairness and improve worker satisfaction.
“The Single Spine Pay policy was introduced to correct distortions in the public service salary structure. While it achieved much initially, over time we are almost back to square one,” Dr Graham noted, urging all stakeholders, including Parliament and unions, to work together to implement lasting reforms.
The meeting followed recent agitations by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) over salary and service conditions. The union subsequently called off its strike on March 17, 2026, signaling a potential window for cooperative reforms under the new pay management framework.
The discussions underscore the high economic stakes of labour unrest and the urgent need for a sustainable, transparent remuneration system to prevent future disruptions.
