The Trades Union Congress (TUC) wants government to increase salaries of public sector workers to match recent inflation figures in a bid to cushion them from current economic hardship in the country.
Latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service says significant increases in the prices associated with food, transport, and housing have pushed the national year-on-year inflation for March 2022 to 19.4 percent.
The rate is 3.7 percentage points higher than the 15.7 percent recorded in February 2022.
The rise in the inflation rate for March 2022 is the highest recorded since the Ghana Statistical Service rebased the Consumer Price Index in August 2019.
General prices of goods and services have also gone up drastically in recent months.
Currently, petrol and diesel are selling between GH¢9 and GH¢10 per litre.
Public transport operators also increased fares by 15%. They are threatening to increase fares further if nothing is done to reduce the cost of fuel in Ghana.
Addressing members of the TUC at an Organised Labour Pre-May Day Forum 2022, the General Secretary of the TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah implored government to increase the salaries of workers to help them survive “these hard times.”
“In July 2021, when we were negotiating public sector pay for 2021 and 2022, inflation was just 9%. As we speak, it has reached 19.4%. This has taken a toll on every worker in government.
“The sad aspect is that this 19.4% is the average. When you actually check, you realise that even the price of water has gone up by 27%. The price of oil has gone up by 25%. This is not normal, we are in a crisis, and therefore, workers should not be allowed to suffer alone. Government should at least increase our salaries to relieve us of the pressure.”