Organised Labour rejects government's 18% salary increment, insists on 60%

Organised Labour has rejected a proposal by the Government of Ghana for an 18% increment in the base pay of public sector workers.

A negotiation meeting between the government and Organised Labour ended in a stalemate as the labour front maintained its position for a 60% increment.

A representative of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has suggested that they may rather adjust their demands upwards considering the details contained in the 2023 budget.

"As you are aware, we have read the budget and there is an indication that there will be an increase in VAT of 2.5 … so this is fresh information that they have brought to that table. Because the budget has indicated certain issues in relation to VAT and the tax bracket to increase our burden," the CLOSAG representative is quoted in a report by Myjoyonline.com sighted by GhanaWeb.

In the same vein, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) says it has also rejected the offer by the government.

"We are not representing ourselves, we are representing the larger group of teachers that are working in the country, so the stance of Organised Labour we are bound by it," President of GNAT, Isaac Owusu is quoted as saying.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) also shared the same position against the government's proposed figure of 18%.

"We've been considerate for years and many things have gone wrong, so I think that this is the time to right the wrongs. The Single Spine Salary Structure is the most indecent structure in this country and we think that this is the opportune time to right the wrongs. So we have not been difficult…we are the same people that took the four and seven percent and so we won't take anything below 60%," a TUC representative said.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Employment, Bright Wereko Brobbey, has expressed worry about the development.

"We have met, but labour insists on a figure, so we will go back and reconvene... We have tabled something, and labour says that they are unwilling to take it. So it is a clear state of frustration, of course, you do not expect me to be happy when there is this state of affairs," he said.

The Deputy General Secretary of the TUC, Joshua Ansah, in an interview with Joynews on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, said the government should expect fierce resistance if it insists on paying anything less than 60%.

"There is no way Organised Labour is also going to accept what has been put in the budget. Well, if the government has made up its mind that it is the way it thinks that he can actually force down the throat of workers, then we are in for a big fight, because there is no way government can pay anything below what we are expecting," he said.

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