Value what you know and start charging for it they say, but when some cards which warrants such deserved impact in the life of a person are pulled, then ‘justifiable reasons are given to postpone, compromise or negotiate for a fairer deal.

The average worker always has high hopes of making something meaningful of his life, but when waking up early to beat the morning traffic and bracing for same impact at the close of the day, while giving optimum productivity isn’t enough to make enough money to get by, then it becomes a big de-motivator to say the least.

Ghana is at that dramatic crossroads where labor and various governmental associations and institutions are making a case for an increased base pay as an antecedent to determine what their new year will look like.

Undeniably, 2023 has been a tumultuous one, coupled with soaring inflation, high living conditions, IMF funding and its accompanying conditionalities, the haircut both individuals and institutions received from the barbering salon of government certainly dashed hope.

Over time, the minimum wage of workers has slowly crept higher with increased inflation and productivity. However, this growth has not kept pace with other market factors, eroding the real value of the minimum wage.

For a moment, there was a stalemate of some sort after a meeting between government and organized labour over the latter’s proposal of over 70% increment in base pay. The demand was to meet the rising cost of living in the country, albeit government has equally thrown in a 15% increment – a far cry from the proposition of organized labor.

Labour consultant and former employment minister, Austin Gamey, reckoned that when proposals are tabled, the law enjoins both parties to make every reasonable effort to reach an agreement. He believes that if the duo is able to continue on that tangent, they’ll be able to reach an agreement.

Reaching a consensus on base pay

Commenting on the staggering proposal made by organized labour, Mr Gamey emphasized that although it sounds a little high in the face of Ghana’s adversity today, the truth is that “we have a system ongoing where we pay people for putting in appearance, not because of productivity”.

“So, I think that it’s only a fair reflection of what we have planted in our DNA in this country. We don’t have good pay system, so any opportunity labor will get, they have to go for the highest bid possible and that’s what they’ve done. It’s for the employer to surrender by giving them the detailed information about the economy and what they intend doing.
“Even in the attempt to go to parliament to read the budget, they must lay out according to the law and practice, what exactly the picture is to labor as was done by previous governments before…”
Austin Gamey

Meanwhile, in spite of the proposal made by labor, government settled on a 23% increment between January and June “taking the current state of the economy into consideration and also taking into consideration the agreement that as a nation we have with the IMF in making sure that we stay on course in achieving all the targets that we have set to achieve for ourselves…”

Government further stated that subsequently, an additional 2 percent increment will be added to the 23 percent making it 25 percent from July to December, 2024.

Although the increment is way beyond what labor demanded, a consensus has been reached and a compromise fulfilled.

While labor must find a way to rub two pennies together, government on its part must do better, especially with its projections for the 2024 budget presentation scheduled for today, November 15, one that makes the living conditions of people better.