Labour deserves 50% salary increment - Casely Hayford

Financial Analyst and Social Commentator, Sydney Casely Hayford has described as “more than justified” calls by Organised Labour for a 50% increase in salaries of public sector workers.

According to him, the workers even “need a 100%” increase in salaries.

Organised Labour is pushing for a 50% increase in salaries for public workers due to the increase in utility tariffs and prices of petroleum products.

The Public Regulatory Commission (PURC) in December 2015 increased electricity and water tariffs by 59.2% and 67.2% respectively.

Government further, in January 2016, slapped a number of taxes on petroleum products which increased petrol price by 27% and diesel by 18%.

Organised Labour has lamented that the hikes have overburdened the Ghanaian worker hence the need for an increase in salaries.

Meanwhile, speaking on Citi FM’s news analysis programme, The Big Issue, Sydney Casely Hayford described the government's position on the issue as hypocritical and insisted that a 50% increase in the wages of public sector workers is in the right direction.

“There are far too many hypocrites… It is the hypocrisy to which we do things that makes us turn round and say that 50% increase is too much, we can’t afford it…How can they be asking for too much when they are asking for another two or three hundred cedis a month on top of what they are spending now?” he further questioned.

Mr Casely Hayford is of the view that the government thinks that organised labour should not benefit from any salary rise because they see them as “illiterates.”

He said, “every time we have to do something, we think that they are asking for too much because they are not entitled to it and yet we don’t want to say that they are not entitled to it because they are illiterates but we find nice ways of explaining to them that this is the salary cap…what they are telling you indirectly is that you are inadequately educated for me to pay you more than 450 or 500 cedis a month.”