By Bright Kofi Agamah
Organised Labour and Government on Thursday, January 12, 2023, reached an agreement for the 2023 Base Pay to be increased by 30 per cent. The effective date for its implementation is 1st January 2023.
Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, announced that by this agreement, the 15 per cent Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), that public sector workers were receiving since July 2022, has ceased.
Mr. Baffour Awuah said it was the hope of the government to have completed “this negotiation by December 2022, unfortunately, we were not able to finish. But thankfully, today we have worked together to come to a conclusion.”
“We want to entreat the Controller and Accountant General Department, the pay master of government workers, to start effecting this in the January 2023 salary pay. We want to assure Ghanaian workers that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, is committed to the wellbeing of all Ghanaian workers and will go extra length at least to make sure that every worker gets that which he or she deserves and as a way of motivating the person to do their best.”
The Employment Minister was upbeat the increase in the Base Pay will motivate Public Sector workers to give off their best to sustain the economy.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, acknowledged that the increase in the Base Pay will have great impact on the budget but was optimistic that it would boost productivity.
“This is going to take a toll on the budget, but I’m confident it will enhance productivity and the commitment that we both have given to each other to make sure that there’s peace in this country as we look at pensions and other labour issues.”
Mr. Ofori Atta said the issue of a peaceful environment for “us to work is something that we treasure, and we really applaud you for that going forward. I really encourage that we continue with this sense of unity going forward and if, as people, we continue to speak the same language, then there will be nothing that will be impossible for us to do.”
The TUC Secretary General, Dr. Yaw Baah, was happy about the cooperation between government and workers, which led to the conclusion of the 30 per cent agreement on the Base Pay for 2023.
Dr. Baah indicated, “this has been a very difficult situation and we are happy that it has ended today peacefully.” He stressed the need to work together to make sure “our country economy gets to the records where we were before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Executive Secretary of Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana, CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoe Addo, said government can count on workers to improve revenue generation.
“We all assure government that we are going to collaborate with them and we are going to come up with ideas to improve the revenue generation of this country. And we know the next time we are going to meet at Base Pay negotiations, it will be a better story.”