9% pay rise is inadequate – Labour unions

Some labour unions have voiced their dissatisfaction regarding the 9 per cent salary increase that has been announced for all public sector employees under the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for the fiscal year 2026.

The unions, which include branches of the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) and the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) of the TUC, contend that the increase is insufficient to cope with the escalating cost of living.

This announcement follows the government’s declaration on November 9, 2025, which approved a 9 per cent salary increase for all public sector workers under the SSSS for the year 2026.

Furthermore, the National Tripartite Committee has consented to a 9 per cent increase in the national daily minimum wage—from GH₵19.97 to GH₵21.77—effective from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

READ ALSO: Public sector workers get 9% salary increment

Speaking in an interview on Monday, November 10, 2025, Isaac Donkor, the former National Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana, characterised the increase as disappointing.

“We are very disappointed because, as a group, we believe the leadership of organised labour did not bargain well for Ghanaian workers. We cannot all be at the negotiation table, so we entrusted our destiny to them to secure something meaningful for 2026.

“But it appears they sold us out. They didn’t do a good job. The government bought us cheaply because we went cheaply, knowing very well that when it comes to negotiations, you don’t put one offer on the table and stick to it,” he stated in an interview with Citi News.