By Francis H. Murray
The Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU) has engaged members of parliament on the establishment of the wages and compensation commission.
The new commission, authorities say, is not only aimed at harmonizing salaries and wages of employees across the country but also addressing disparities in wages and salaries.
The deliberations took place on Monday 9th November, in Committee Room One, Parliament Building in Freetown.
In his background statement on the Wages and Compensation Commission (WCC), the Director of PSRU, Georgiana Kamara, said the huge disparities in salaries of both public and civil servants had warranted the government to set up the said Commission with a view of getting the legal backing aimed at.
In his welcoming address, the Clerk of Parliament, Paran Umar Tarawally, expressed appreciation to the organizers for their determination and commitment in bringing such an important programme to their doorstep. He concluded by wishing the organizers successful deliberations.
Making his statement, the Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu, noted that it is very disheartening for someone who is working and having the same qualifications with another person without earning the same salaries and benefits. He used the occasion to ask that workers be remunerated relative to their qualification and experience.
He also informed his audience that he is a member of the salaries and pensions committee that determines the salaries of appointees and expressed hope that a successful outcome of the consultative process will end the disparities between salaries and wages in the country.
In a PowerPoint presentation on the Wages and Compensation Commission, Consultant, George Smith-Graham, stressed the importance of the WCC and also briefed MPs on the procedure, in light of several consultative meetings geared towards harmonizing the existential disparities in wages and salaries in the country.
The consultant also discussed the guiding principles, methodology, and overview of key issues and concepts, laws and polices on salary administration in Sierra Leone, as well as constitutional provisions, administrative instructions and institutional arrangements for salaries and pensions in the country.
In conclusion, the Clerk of Parliament thanked the Consultant for what he described as a “positive work done” and appealed that the documents be presented to MPs in order for them to have an in-depth knowledge into the issues raised, so as to put them into a better policy and legislative actions.
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