The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has expressed outrage at the 9.8 per cent and 15.9 per cent increase in electricity and water tariffs beginning January 1, 2026.
Labour’s contention is that the increases were going to take effect on the very day “The paltry nine per cent increase in the minimum wage and the base pay by the government will also take effect, describing it as “the government’s New Year’s gift to Ghanaians.”
In a statement issued Wednesday and signed by the Secretary-General, Joshua Ansah, the TUC stressed that workers could not accept the increases unless the government came back to the negotiating table to top up the wage increase for next year.
Anything short of that, the TUC said, it would mobilise workers to resist the implementation of the insensitive increases in utility prices.
It said Organised Labour would organise a press conference on Monday to outline measures to address the obnoxious tariff increase.
Contention
The TUC said the government granted a wage increase of 10 per cent this year and increased electricity tariffs cumulatively by more than 18 per cent.
It said as workers bemoaned the per cent wage increase for 2026 in the light of the prevailing cost of living, the least they expected was for the government to spring a surprise on them with increases in prices of utilities.
“This increment has completely eroded the nine per cent wage adjustment for 2026. Clearly, government is demonstrating its insensitivity to the daily struggles of workers and Ghanaians,” the TUC stressed.
