Akufo-Addo confirms 7 percent increase in salaries of public workers

Labour unions threaten to strike over the four percent increment

7 percent increment takes effect 2022

Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has confirmed the 7 percent salary increase to all public sector workers.

This implies workers including the police, doctors, nurses, teachers, civil servants and all other workers who fall under the public services commission of Ghana will see a 7 percent rise in their pay from January 2022.

The president on his Twitter handle said: “public sector workers would enjoy 7 percent increase in base”.

The government had earlier said it was going to increase the salaries of public sector workers by 4 percent.

However, the 4 percent increase was heavily opposed by labour unions including the Ghana National Association of teachers (GNAT) with threats of strike actions by these unions which forced the government to increase the increment to percent

The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffuor Awuah was the first to disclose that the government will this year increase the 4% salary increment for public sector workers to 7 per cent.

“We had to negotiate with the leadership of organised labour and in the process, we had to agree that we also had to be modest in our request on the national kitty.

“That is how we ended at the 4%. Mr. President, the beautiful thing is that we are moving on and we had agreed that coming into this current year the 4 per cent will no longer exist and that we are going to give lecturers a 7 per cent increment,” he said.

He said this at the 6th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Kumasi on Tuesday, January 4.

The government earlier increased salary by 4 per cent, a decision that was heavily opposed by labour unions including GNAT.

The unions called for a higher percentage increment including GNAT.

The President of GNAT, Ms. Philipa Larsen, said “We are calling on the President; otherwise, there would be no peace, and the country would become ungovernable,” she warned.

According to her, “the current system of remuneration in the public sector is not fair; it favours some categories of office holders in the public service.”