A group calling itself the Coalition Against TUC and Organised Labor has petitioned President Akufo-Addo to intervene in the recent salary increment for public sector workers for 2021/2022 which it described as “killer salary increment”.
According to the Group, the parties and representatives who took part in the negotiations did not act in the interest of the ordinary Ghanaian worker.
“The Coalition strongly believe that, the Finance Minister and our Labour Union Representatives who represented the Labour front at the Tripartite Committee meeting where the 4% and 7% salary increment were agreed for 2021 and 2022 respectively did not do so in the utmost interest of Ghanaians workers hence the need for your urgent intervention.
“As a father of the country we are calling for your intervention to re-adjust the 4% salary increment for 2021 and 7% for 2022”.
Coalition Against TUC and Organised Labor
Meanwhile, the Group made reference to Professor Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu’s report on emoluments of Article 71 office holders which states that “the percentage increase granted to Article 71 office holders in any particular year should not exceed what is granted to public servants”. According to the Group, the current salary increments do not reflect the recommendations of the committee.
“Mr. President this does not support the facts on the ground as the Annual Gross Salary of a Principal Superintendent in the Ghana Education Service for instance is similar to the Monthly Gross Salary of a Member of Parliament who is an Article 71 office holder and it is for such yawning disparities in our salary levels coupled with the 4% killer salary increment that necessitated our knock on your door this day.
Coalition Against TUC and Organised Labor
Need to exhibit leadership by example
The Coalition stated that, “being guided by the General Recommendations of the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu’s report, we are saying give us the same salary increment as Article 71 office holders or apply the principle of ‘leadership by example’ and reduce Article 71 office holders’ salary increment to the 4% benchmark in order to resonate with the common phraseology of not being in normal times on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Furthermore, the Coalition indicated that the Labour Union leaders who represented Ghanaian workers and the Finance Minister were “very unfair to Ghanaian workers and exercised their duties in bad faith for a reason best known to them”.
To this end, the Coalition notes that Ghanaian workers cannot just survive with the 4% and 7% salary increment for 2021 and 2022 respectively in the wake of the introduction of new taxes at the beginning of this year which devastating and dire socio-economic consequences have not spared the already suffering Ghanaian public sector worker.
High cost of living
Listing eight different taxes introduced in 2021 alone, the Coalition noted that those numerous taxes have impacted negatively on the living conditions of Ghanaian public sector workers. Also, the Group notes that the fuel price hikes and its attendant 13% Transport fare increases has inextricably led to a rise in prices of foodstuffs and other general goods and services.
According to the petition, this has further impacted adversely on the price of Cement which has increased from GHȼ32.00 as at December 2020 to GHȼ50.00, representing 34% increment. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta urged Organized labour to partner government to build the economy whilst outlining other conditions that the government is expected to meet under the wage negotiations.
The Coalition is made up of Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement Ghana (ADAM-GH), Conveners of Fix The Country and over Twenty Thousand (20,000) Ghanaian public sector workers.
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