Government Increases Base Pay By 23%
The government has increased the base pay rate across all sectors by 23 per cent, effective January 1, 2024.
This was after a prolonged meeting between the government, represented by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and organised labour, represented by various unions and organisations.
This is coming at a time when inflation continues to remain high.
Organised labour requested a 45 per cent increase in base pay, which would raise overall salaries for public sector workers next year.
However, the figure was slashed by almost half after discussions on Tuesday, November 14.
Joshua Ansah, the Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, had earlier said that a 45 per cent increase would have been fair for workers, considering the rise in the cost of goods and services in the past months and the rate of cedi depreciation against other major international currencies.
However, organised labour did not have its way and reached a compromised conclusion with the government.
In the previous year, organised labour had demanded a 60% rise in base pay across all levels for the 2023 fiscal year, but several meetings failed to yield positive results for government workers.
The government subsequently agreed to increase the base pay on the Single Spine Salary Structure by 23% for all public sector works for the 2023 period.
For 2023 was 30%