Economist, Prof. John Gatsi says the government is late with its announcement of the 23% increment in the base pay for public sector workers on the Single Spine Salary Structure.
The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, announced in Accra on Tuesday that the adjustment would be effective from January 1, 2024, to June 2024.
He added that the base pay would be increased from July 2024 to December 2024, bringing the total increase to 25%.
“We agreed that the minimum wage would be reviewed upwards by 22%, averaging from 14.88 to GH¢18.15…We have concluded that the national base pay will be increased by 23% between 1st February 2024 to 30 June 2024, and subsequently, an additional 2% increment will be added, making it 25% from July to December 2024,” he stated.
Prof. Gatsi told Umaru Sanda Amadu in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM that, although the government’s decision was in line with the Public Financial Management Act, he opined that the government was late and should have announced it earlier, so it could be factored into the 2024 budget.
“The Public Financial Management Act requires that all issues relating to labour should be agreed upon and factored into the budget before it is read to parliament. So even this one, I want to say that they are very late in the date.”
“That should have been done months or so earlier, so it could be factored into the budget, and read to Parliament,” he stated.