General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, has threatened to embark on an unprecedented industrial action in the country if government fails to announce salary increment.

Dr Baah revealed that government must avoid associating its inability to increase salaries of employees to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rift between Russia and Ukraine. He noted that the job crisis did not start with Ukraine and predates the rift between the feuding countries.

“We will continue to talk, we will continue to negotiate but if the dialogue fails, we are going to embark on an industrial action that has never happened in this country before… We think it is not right to blame Ukraine and Covid-19 for every job crisis we have in this country.”
Dr Yaw Baah

The General Secretary for TUC explained that employers must “index” employees’ salary to the inflation due to the incessant changes in the prices of goods. He opined that the inflation rate does not affect employers the way it is “affecting us therefore, we should get our salaries indexed.” Owing to this, Dr Baah further urged employees to think outside the box and not be overly dependant on government.

“Don’t let us rely too much on government and employers. Let us ask the question, what can we do for ourselves as workers and unions? We will negotiate effectively this year and that one, I want to assure you that I will lead that negotiation.”
Dr Yaw Baah

Speaking at an Organized Labour Pre-May Day Forum , today, April 21, 2022, Dr. Baah expressed dissatisfaction with government’s unwillingness to actively engage with the TUC over its concerns. He emphasized that it is high time government realizes the relevance of workers in the progress of the country.

“We hardly want to strike because a strike is a very difficult thing to do. It is like war, so before we declare war we have to make sure we have a good reason. This time we have a good reason to do this. The workers of this country are suffering too much, and we should not allow it to continue.”
Dr Yaw Baah

TUC calls for pension reforms

Touching on the fate of pensioners in the country, Dr Baah further opined that the TUC has assessed the pensioners’ situation in Ghana and has concluded that the plight of most pensioners is nothing to write home about. He expressed that most pensioners are dying prematurely because they receive as low as GHS300 per month.

The low level salaries of employees, Dr Baah highlighted, translates to low pensions. As a result of this, he stated that things must change because pensioners become less agile to engage in any strenuous work to earn extra income.

“We have analysed pensions and those who are earning pensions, it is very sad… But that is the time you are going to earn very little. No wonder many pensioners die before their appointed time. That should change. As I speak to you now, there are many pensioners who are earning just 300 cedis a month but you will be surprised to hear on the same social security scheme [and] SSNIT, somebody is earning GHS142, 000 every month. If you multiply that by 12, you will get the annual pension for that pension. This is not right and we have to change it.”
Dr Yaw Baah