Ghana announces pay rise for public sector workers

The Ghanaian government has announced that public sector workers who take home the minimum wage will have their monthly salaries increased by 23% from January 2024.

The announcement was made on Tuesday following a meeting between representatives of the government and the labour union.

The increment would be on basic salaries, the government said in a statement through Employment and Labour Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah.

Between July and December 2024, the minimum-pay employees would receive an extra 2%, to take the total increment on monthly salaries to 25%.

70% pay rise demand

The labour union had demanded a 70% increase on the minimum wage to factor in inflation.

Following negotiations with the government, Ghana's Trades Union Congress (TUC), through its Secretary-General Anthony Yaw Baah, accepted the two-phased increase on workers' salaries.

Currently, Ghana's monthly minimum wage is roughly 402 cedis ($33.65). With the proposed adjustments, it means that the minimum basic pay for public sector workers would increase to about 495 cedis ($41.40) in January, and 502.50 cedis ($42.05) in July 2024.