The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has confirmed that an amount of GH¢485 million has been paid by government as Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to public sector workers.
The amount covers for the months of July and August.
A statement from the Controller and Accountant General confirmed the payment.
It said “1. Pursuant to the approval given by the Ministry of Finance on 1st August 2022, following the Agreement signed between Government and Organized Labour on 14th July 2022, the Controller and Accountant-General has paid the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to workers in Public Service Institutions.
“2. The COLA which represents fifteen percent (15%) of the 2022 basic salary was paid for the months of July and August.
“3. The total amount paid for COLA for the two months is Four Hundred and Eighty-Five Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢485,000,000.00).”
Government and Organised Labour agreed on a 15 percent cost of living allowance for public sector workers.
The various worker unions, including the four teacher unions, the Ghana Medical Association, and the Public Sector Workers Union, among others, demanded the payment of 20 percent of their basic salaries as Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) due to the current economic situation in the country.
Negotiations dragged on for over two weeks, compelling CCT, GNAT, NAGRAT, and TEWU to embark on an industrial action to insist on their demands.
But after a crunch meeting, both parties came to a conclusion on a 15 percent COLA, which will take retrospective effect from July 1, 2022.
The Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, reading out the terms of the agreement, said “We agreed with the labour unions that the COLA will be paid at the rate of 15% of base pay, that the effective date for the payment of the COLA will be 1st July 2022.”
“We also agreed that all industrial actions underway and threats of same will be called off immediately and that labour will return to work.”
By Vincent Kubi