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The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) says acceding to the request of polytechnic teachers for a market premium similar to that enjoyed by university lecturers will defeat the purpose of the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP). The Chief Executive of the FWSC, Mr George Smith-Graham, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the foundation of the SSPP, which was fairness and equity in the salaries of public sector workers, for which reason the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) was instituted, would not be realised if workers with different responsibilities were rewarded equally. He said the responsibilities of polytechnic teachers and university teachers were different, and could not be rewarded similarly. Mr Smith-Graham said this in reaction to an indefinite strike called by the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) who are protesting the handling of their concerns by the FWSC. When contacted, the President of POTAG, Mr Francis Atintono, said the decision was reached after an executive meeting of POTAG in Accra. Executive members, he said, had proposed a market premium that the FWSC said it did not have the mandate to accede to. Mr Atintono said having had their hopes dashed by the government agency therefore, POTAG had no option but to declare the strike. He said apart from demands for the government to give a better market premium to make polytechnic teaching in the country attractive, members also wanted a mediation agreement facilitated by the National Labour Commission (NLC) in 2010 for parties to work to remove disparities in the salaries of POTAG members implemented. Investigations by the Daily Graphic showed that a market premium of 114 per cent was being enjoyed by university lecturers, and POTAG members are demanding the same percentage as market premium. The FWSC had offered a 90 per cent market premium, which reduces the gap in salaries between polytechnic teachers and university lecturers from about 55 per cent previously to 11.2 per cent currently on the SSSS.