Some Ghanaian casual workers
The National Tripartite Committee (NTC) has raised the daily minimum wage by 10 per cent.
The increment, which is in line with Section 113 (1) (a) of the Labour Act, 2003, (Act 651), brings the new minimum wage to GH¢10.65 up from GH¢9.68.
According to the committee, which is headed by the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, the effective date for this increment is January 2019.
Other members consist of five representatives each from the social partners – government, employers and labour.
In a release issued on Thursday and jointly signed by Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Terence R. Darko, President of the Ghana Employers Association and Dr Yaw Baah, Secretary General of Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), the committee said the decision was arrived at after a series of meetings.
The committee urged all establishments, institutions or organisations, whose daily minimum wage fall below the new wage to adjust their wages upward from January 1, next year.
It said establishments, institutions or organisations that disobey the new rate would be sanctioned legally since it is unlawful for any worker in Ghana to be paid below the minimum wage.
The committee, according to Mr Awuah, was committed to the improvement of incomes as a means to spur productivity in both public and private sectors of Ghana’s economy.
Terrence Darko, President of the Ghana Employers Association, in a remark, urged government to find new ways of bridging the gap between wage and production, adding that government needs to establish suitable means of calculating output.
Dr Yaw Baah, Secretary General of TUC, on his part, said next year’s negotiations were likely to feature discussions on how to inculcate decent housing for workers, adding that workers are happy with the 10 per cent increase.
By Samuel Boadi