Ghana’s pay system exploitative - TUC calls out wage injustice

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for a complete overhaul of Ghana’s wage structure, describing the current pay regime as unjust, unsustainable and demoralising. 

Addressing thousands of workers gathered at the Black Star Square in Accra yesterday to mark Workers’ Day, the Secretary-General of the TUC, Joshua Ansah, said Ghanaian workers had reached a breaking point due to low wages, pay inequities and worsening working conditions.

Mr Ansah stated that the minimum wage of GH¢19.97, the equivalent of $1.28, for eight hours of work was a global embarrassment.

“Significant proportions of workers are paid below this amount, and even those on higher pay scales are now living in poverty,” he lamented.

He described the existing single spine salary structure as inadequate.

“The current framework for wage determination is no longer fit for purpose.

We demand a fair and transparent wage-setting mechanism anchored on credible economic indicators, including food inflation, housing, transportation, health care and education,” he said. 

Article 71 holders

Mr Ansah also took issue with what he described as an “obscene” gap in remuneration between Article 71 office holders and public sector workers.

“It is a scandal that some chief executive officers (CEOs) of state entities have rent allowances three times more than the salaries of our highest-paid public servants,” he said.

Organised Labour called on the President to harmonise public sector pay, abolish Article 71 and institute a broad-banded integrated pay structure within the next four years of his leadership.

Pensions

Touching on pensions, Mr Ansah criticised the deep inequalities within the system, lamenting that some pensioners received less than GH¢500 a month, while others drew over GH¢200,000.

“Our pension system is broken,” he said, demanding its immediate reform and unification.

Mr Ansah also decried the government’s growing influence in the management of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and called for stronger regulation of second-tier schemes.

He said the government must allow the management of those agencies to have a greater say in the usage of the funds and the appointment of board chairpersons, and the director general.

Organised Labour expressed concern over the increasing victimisation of workers who attempted to unionise, citing the recent dismissal of three workers from Sunon Asogli for joining the Ghana Mine Workers Union and appealed to the President to intervene for their reinstatement. 

“Mr President, foreign-owned companies are among the worst culprits of this creeping intolerance of workers who desire to join unions,” he stated. 
 

National issues

Mr Ansah raised serious concerns about the continued, indiscriminate termination of public sector workers, citing the recent mass layoffs at the Ghana Maritime Authority.

He also expressed deep worry over the suspension and potential removal of the Chief Justice, warning that the process poses a threat to the country’s democracy and urged the President to proceed with caution.

Mr Ansah also touched on the worsening state of illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, stating that five months into the new administration, the environmental destruction caused by the menace was escalating rapidly.

He urged the President to show decisive leadership by revoking Legislative Instrument 2,462, which he described as a gateway for reckless mining in ecologically sensitive areas. 

Environment

The TUC Secretary-General also stressed Organised Labour’s expectation of the government to prioritise environmental protection and lead a new, responsible approach to land use.
Organised Labour called for a much stricter fight against illegal mining, also known as galamsey, including the complete repeal of the Legislative Instrument that permitted mining in forest reserves.

Mr Ansah warned against attempts to privatise the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), stating that such a move would deepen existing energy sector problems.

He called for a comprehensive diagnostics of the sector rather than a rushed sale.

Labour institutions

Mr Ansah urged the government to strengthen social dialogue institutions, citing underfunding of the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment, the National Labour Commission, and related agencies.

He mentioned that the National Tripartite Committee had been reduced to the determination of the national minimum wage, in spite of its importance in industrial relations and the many functions listed for it under the Labour Act.

“The industrial relations scene has been quite peaceful, but it may not be sustainable unless we work together as sub-partite partners to keep the peace.

If you fail to strengthen the institutions for social dialogue, you will pay a much higher price in the form of frequent strikes and other industrial disturbances,” Mr Ansah warned.