Personnel of Immigration Service not happy with SSSS

Accra, Sept 23, GNA - Members of the Ghana Immigration Service

(GIS) are not very much enthused at the salary disparities that exist

between them and their counterparts in the Police Service under the

Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS). Consequently, Management and Regional Commanders of the GIS on

Thursday met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and

Salaries Commission (FWSC) in Accra to discuss their grievances and

how its personnel could be placed on a level commensurate with their

job classifications. A statement released after the meeting and signed by Mrs.

Elizabeth Adjei, Director of GIS, said: "Over the years, the mandate of

the Service has expanded to make it the lead agency in Border

Management through the deployment of the Border Patrol Unit along

the nation's frontiers". The statement said: "The Service has further been assigned the

responsibility of vetting applications for, as well as issuing and

renewing the work permits of foreigners, a task that was formerly the

preserve of the Ministry of Interior". Management and Regional Commanders of the GIS therefore, put

forward 10 points for the consideration of the FWSC to correct the

anomaly that exists in the salaries of personnel of the Service. These include; i: "That the issue of allowances needed to be

addressed in a manner devoid of ambiguities and acrimony". ii: "That after the promulgation of PNDC Law 226 in 1989, the GIS

adopted a rank structure that is analogous with that of other security

services. Entry into the Service was also made equivalent to that of the all the security services were placed on salary ranges commensuratewith their analogous ranks", iii: "That prior to SSSS, certain allowances in category one, whichwere enjoyed by other sister security services such as Operational,Kilometric, Clothing, Batman and frontier allowances were not enjoyed

by the GIS. It was our expectation that with the SSSS, the anomaly

would have been corrected before any negotiation on the SSSS

allowances began", iv: "That the GIS is also mindful of the fact that its functions differ

from other security services and are therefore, of the view that a

re-evaluation of jobs is not an option, since it has the tendency of

drawing the whole process backwards", v: "That the issues being raised by GIS could be resolved", vi: "As a security service, we are not strike oriented and therefore,

we believe it would be in our mutual interest that government steps in

and makes a case for the GIS and other security services for that

matter", vii: "It was also noted that at the time of the evaluation, the Border

Patrol Unit had not started its operations and the likely effect of a low

evaluation based on its non-existence cannot be ruled out", viii: "It also needs to be stated that of all the sister security

services, GIS has been low on allowances even though our basic

function of ensuring national security are the same", viiii: "The GIS is the only security service that generates significant revenue through the levying of fees for visas and other consular duties.

In 2009, the GIS raised over GHc10 million as revenue through its

operations nationwide. Mid-year figures for 2010 have already

exceeded estimates, and it is expected that annual estimates will be

exceeded by about 40 per cent. The combination of roles to include

security and revenue generation must be recognized and amply

rewarded by the state, as this is unique to the operations of the GIS." v: "The GIS is a joint stakeholder in national assignments of a

security nature, including providing security cover during elections,

peacekeeping operations in conflict areas, anti-smuggling operations

and other national assignments. Currently, the Service has a

detachment of troops in the Bawku area, and has contributed personnel

to joint anti-cocoa smuggling operations in the Western Region. The

Service's role in combating the ravages of Fulani Herdsmen and their

cattle cannot be overemphasized". Mr. Smith Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the FWSC, assured the

Management and Regional Commanders of the GIS that the

Commission would study the issues and appropriately address them. Mr. Graham mentioned rankings of the personnel and said that there

was the need to level it up with what pertained in other security

agencies.