Organised Labour In Ghana Demands 60% Rise In Base Pay And Rejects 12% Offer From Government

• It's a major deadlock between the government and labour unions over demands for a pay increase
• Labour unions in the education sector are demanding a 60% increase in their base pay but government says it can manage only 12%
• The workers have rejected the offer on grounds that the fuel allowance of some government appointees is twice their salaries

There is a stalemate between the government and organised labour in the education space in Ghana who are demanding at least a 60% increase in their salaries.

The government has offered a 12% increase in base pay, but the public sector workers have rejected the offer as paltry.

Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) and the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) want a 60% increase in their salary before the finance minister presents the 2023 budget on Thursday, November 24, 2022.

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A meeting between the government and the labour unions on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 ended inconclusively as both sides disagreed on key terms.

TEWU president Ambrose Yaw Kwadwodzah told Joy News that the debilitating economic conditions has forced members to demand higher pay increases.

"We believe that what is left in the coffers is not being shared equitably amongst us. The so-called Article 71 office holders, one of their allowance is more than someone’s basic salary and that is not fair at all,” he lamented.

GNAT president Dr Isaac Owusu also expressed a similar sentiment when he said the poor salaries members receive make the 60% increase a justifiable demand.

“When we were negotiating for 2021/2022 raise, it was 4 and 7 per cent respectively and you saw the pressure that came on the leadership of the organised labour.

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"Aside from that, look at the current economic situation that the workers find themselves in, left with the members alone, they would ask for more than the 60%,” he stressed.

But economics professor Peter Quartey has said the demand by the labour unions seem untenable.

In his estimation the best that the government can do is between 15% and 20% increase in base pay.

Tertiary Education To Suffer As University Labour Unions Declare Indefinite Strike

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that university students in Ghana are set to face a rough road on their academic journey because their lecturers, administrators and other key staff declared an indefinite strike on Monday, October 17.

UTAG, GAUA, TEWU and SSA-UoG are on strike over what they say is government's refusal to pay their fuel, vehicle maintenance and off-campus allowances.

They also accuse the government of taking unilateral decisions on these allowances at a time when the economic hardship was biting.

Source: YEN.com.gh