Update on meeting of 2023 Base Pay Negotiations

The 2023 Basic Wage Negotiation Meeting between the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and Public Service Workers (Unions) held on Wednesday 30 November 2022 at the Ministry of Health Auditorium in Accra has ended without any proper outcome.

Reports from the meeting indicate that the government represented by the FWSC proposed a basic salary of 18%, but the offer was still rejected by the unions.

Organized Labor again revised its proposed base salary from 60% to 65% due to the increase in taxation laid out in the 2023 Budget and Economic Policy Statement submitted to Parliament by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

Mr. Isaac Bamboo-Addo, Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Employees Association of Ghana, confirmed that the new figure was proposed due to the proposed tax increase in the 2023 Budget and Economic Policy Statement.

“Our demand is reasonable given the new tax increases in the 2023 budget. We realized that some of the decisions taken by the government would not help our members if we took 60 percent. Take for example the increase in value-added tax by 2.5 percent,” he explained.

Isaac Bambu-Addo reiterated that the unions would not accept any 60% increase.

This is how he presented it in the fourth round of next year’s salary negotiations with the government on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

In previous negotiations, the government offered a 15 percent raise, saying the debt-ridden economy could not afford a higher wage bill.

According to the unions, their motives are still economic hardship and huge taxes imposed on goods and services. The unions are very tough in their stance and don’t seem willing to back down.

However, the meeting ended inconclusively after the two parties failed to reach an amicable agreement.

The next stage is the mediation of the National Labor Committee (NLC) if the parties are still unable to reach an agreement in the foreseeable future.

So far, the deliberations have ended and the meeting has been postponed until further notice.

LABOUR UNIONS SALARY PROPOSALS

GOVERNMENT SALARY PROPOSALS