President John Dramani Mahama has signaled a renewed push to overhaul public sector pay, promising a fresh review of the Single Spine Salary Structure as labour unions intensify pressure over low wages, weak pension benefits and unsafe working conditions, particularly within the education sector.
Speaking at the Ghana National Association of Teachers conference in Accra on January 5, the President told delegates that salary and pension reforms would feature prominently in his administration’s broader labour agenda. Discussions at the conference centred on persistent concerns about teacher remuneration, retirement security and workplace safety.
According to President Mahama, the planned review is intended to correct long-standing inequities in public sector pay while strengthening protections for workers both during active service and after retirement.
Responding directly to appeals from organised labour, he said the government was open to revisiting the entire salary and pension framework to address dissatisfaction that has lingered for years. “Everybody was happy, Tier 2, Tier 3, and it looks like the time has come for us to look at it again, and so again, TUC, as a leader of organized labor, raised it with us, and I told Comrade Joshua and his team that we’re prepared to put together a working team to look at the whole pension reform and come up with some suggestions and see how we can improve it so that everybody is happy and feels secure going into retirement, and a safe and secure working environment is a must,” he said.
The President was reacting to submissions from GNAT President Reverend Isaac Owusu, who urged the government to prioritise a review of the Single Spine Pay Policy before the end of the year. He argued that teachers continue to suffer the consequences of stagnant wages despite their central role in national development.
Reverend Owusu said a timely revision of the policy would significantly improve salaries and conditions of service across the education sector, warning that prolonged delays risk deepening frustration and weakening morale among teachers.
“To celebrate these achievements, Your Excellency, we must not shy away from confronting the present challenges that continue to hinder our progress. The dedication of our teachers is unparalleled, yet they remain the backbone of the system and often underappreciated and overburdened,” he said. He added, “We face an ongoing crisis regarding the condition of service, where many teachers struggle with inadequate salaries that do not reflect their hard work and dedication. It is incumbent upon us to address these issues head-on.”
President Mahama acknowledged widespread dissatisfaction with the Single Spine Salary Structure, conceding that it has failed to achieve fairness across the public sector. He described the framework as “very crooked” and said it has left many workers disillusioned.
“Everybody is unhappy with the spine, and so of course TUC raised it with us and asked if we could look at the whole salary structure again. We’re very willing to do that so that we are able to remunerate people better so that they can give off their best in terms of what we are supposed to do,” he said.
On pensions, the President announced plans to establish a working team to review the three tier pension scheme and propose reforms aimed at improving benefits and guaranteeing security for workers nearing retirement. The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, also confirmed that the government would assess the pension framework as part of efforts to improve the welfare of retirees.
Teacher safety emerged as another key issue at the conference, with Reverend Owusu declaring zero tolerance for attacks on educators. He warned that GNAT would not hesitate to shut down schools if assaults on teachers continue. “We are declaring that this year, 2026, we are declaring a zero tolerance for teacher assault and brutality. Should any individual or group attack any teacher in Ghana without cause, we shall invoke the spirit and solidarity of ‘touch one, touch all.’ If we have to close down schools, we will close down schools,” he said.
President Mahama endorsed the position, describing attacks on teachers as criminal acts and assuring unions of firm government intervention. “As for assault on teachers, I am with you one hundred percent. We will deal with it,” he told delegates.
The renewed assurances come as unions and education stakeholders step up calls for better pay, increased funding for schools and safer working environments, insisting that sustained reforms are essential to restoring confidence in Ghana’s education system.
