GOOD NEWS: Government Approves 30% Salary Increment For Public Sector Workers

The Government of Ghana and Organized Labour have agreed to a 30 percent base pay increment for public sector workers.

This was announced by Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffour-Awuah today Thursday January 12.

The increment took effect January 1, 2023.

Announcing the the decision, Mr Baffuor -Awuah said “Since August last year, we started meeting to determine the base pay for 2023.

“This was after in July, we had worked together to grant a COLA of 15 per cent, being a relief for hardships that the Ghanaian worker was enduring. It was our hope to have completed this negotiation by December 2022.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to finish but thankfully, today, we have worked together to come to a conclusion.

“I am happy to announce the outcome of our engagements. The base pay has been increased by 30% for the 2023 financial year.

“The effective date is 1st January 2023. As I said this brings to an end the 2022 COLA of 15% of base pay salary.”

This comes after public sector workers called for a 60 per cent increase in the base pay on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for 2023.

Base pay is the minimum compensation earned by a worker in exchange for his or her labour and/ or time before any taxes are applied or any form of benefit is awarded.

Organised Labour, which made the proposal on behalf of public sector workers, cited the current rise in inflation and the 15 per cent Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) on the National Daily Minimum Wage as the basis for the increment.

It made the proposal for the consideration of the government through the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, and called on the Government to ensure that the step increment of 1.7 per cent on the Single Spine Salary Structure, as moved to two per cent in 2012 was implemented.

“Due to the inflationary trends and the fact that 15 per cent Cost of Living Allowance has been granted on the National Daily Minimum Wage. We humbly propose that a 60 per cent increase on the 2022 Base Pay should be considered,” it said.

Organised Labour said it, “can no longer wait for the implementation of the two per cent step increment”.

It said originally, the daily base pay (Level 1, Step 1) was 10 per cent above the national daily minimum wage, but a gap had been created over the years because it accepted COLA instead of normal salary increase.

It said currently, the 2022 daily base pay on the 2022 Single Spine Salary Structure was 16.26 per cent below the 2022 national daily minimum wage and required a 10 per cent increment to GHS16.37 to close the existing gap.

Organised Labour, therefore, called for the 2022 annual base pay on the single spine salary structure of GHS3,672.84 to be increased to GHS5,303.23 for 2023 to halt the erosion in the salary levels for its members.

The Government this week increased the national minimum wage by 10 per cent, from GHS13. 53 to GHS14. 88.

The implementation is expected to start January next year.

A cross section of public sector workers expressed misgivings about the increment, describing it as woefully inadequate in view of the rising cost of living.