By Stanley Kwabla Arku | Presidential Correspondent

Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang says the Single Spine Salary Structure is no longer meeting the evolving demands of Ghana’s labour market, underscoring the need for reforms to restore fairness, stability and industrial harmony.

Speaking at the opening of the 2026 National Labour Conference in Ho, the Vice President said although the Single Spine Salary Structure, introduced about 15 years ago, represented a bold effort to achieve equal pay for equal work, the system is now under significant strain.

According to her, persistent public sector wage disparities, labour agitations and the fragmented governance of public sector emoluments continue to exert considerable pressure on the national economy.

“While many successes have been recorded, the system is now under serious strain. The current pay system has not kept pace with market demands,” she stated.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the establishment of the Independent Emoluments Commission is a deliberate intervention by government to reform the country’s compensation framework and ensure greater consistency in public sector remuneration.

She explained that the Commission is expected to stabilise the compensation system, strengthen institutional arrangements and guarantee continuity in wage administration while promoting industrial harmony.

“The establishment of the Independent Emoluments Commission is a deliberate intervention to address the issue. It allows government to stabilise the compensation system and build strong institutional foundations while ensuring continuity and industrial harmony,” she said.

The Vice President stressed that maintaining industrial peace remains critical to Ghana’s economic recovery, noting that government has taken difficult but necessary decisions over the past year to keep the economy resilient amid global geopolitical and economic challenges.

She said the country is beginning to see positive outcomes from those measures but cautioned that sustaining the gains would require collaboration between government, employers and workers.

“The key is how to maintain them, how not to lose the little progress we are making, but how to sustain them. All of these are key to our national security. They are intertwined,” she said.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also called for a renewed social contract among government, employers and organised labour to strengthen workplace harmony and support Ghana’s socio-economic development.

She further urged labour stakeholders to broaden discussions beyond the formal sector to include informal sector workers, who account for an estimated 78 per cent of Ghana’s workforce but often remain outside the protection of existing labour systems.

The three-day conference has brought together government officials, organised labour, employers and development partners to discuss employment, workers’ welfare and industrial relations under the theme of promoting workplace harmony for national development.