Workers’ pay must be adjusted as soon as possible, according to the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
According to Thomas Musah, General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), circumstances are tough for Ghanaian employees, thus the government needs to put a smile on their faces by raising their wages.
“Times are hard for workers, I tell you, and this is the time that the government will also have to demonstrate to workers that the sacrifices that organized labour made over the last two years, this is the time that the government can put some smiles on workers’ faces,” he said in an interview with TV3.
He went on to explain the reason for the need to raise their salary, stating that the income they make now has a direct impact on their pensions.
“The issue of income has become vital and critical because the income you take now has a direct link to your pension, so if your salary is really low today, the money you will take cannot even transport you home if you go on pension.”
During the most recent negotiations, the government agreed to a 4% wage increase for 2021 and a 7% raise for 2022.
Mr Musah, on the other hand, claims they got the nickname 4% because of the percentage increase they earned last year.
He went on to explain the reason for the need to raise their salary, stating that the income they make now has a direct impact on their pensions.
“We were under severe pressure over the past two years, and we are still referred to as 4% wherever we go; our new name is 4%.” Our members no longer address us by our given names; instead, when they meet us, they address us as 4%, which has become our Sir name.”
Dr Yaw Baah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), recently informed employees that he would personally lead discussions to guarantee that they received the appropriate amount of compensation increases.
He assured workers that he would bargain properly this year.
Dr Yaw Baah, speaking at a conference in Accra on Thursday, April 21, advised the government to modify salaries to match the country’s growing inflation.
He noted that when inflation grows, the prices of products and services rise as well, necessitating the need to always raise wages.
“Employers should link our salary to inflation since employers modify the cost of their goods so the inflation rate does not harm them the way it does us,” Dr Yaw Baah remarked.
“Don’t put too much reliance on the government and employers.” Let us ask ourselves, as workers and unions, what we can do for ourselves. We will effectively negotiate this year, and I can guarantee you that I will lead that negotiation.
“We will continue to discuss, we will continue to negotiate, but if the dialogue fails, we will start on a never-before-seen industrial action in this nation.”
