The Finance Minister-designate, Ken Ofori-Atta has assured public sector workers that the government will be fair during negotiations for salary adjustments.
According to him, since the Akufo-Addo led government assumed office in 2017, it has kept faith with public sector workers.
He insisted that it is the reason for the peaceful environment the government has enjoyed from the public workers.
Appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday, March 25, 2021, Mr. Ofori-Atta said the government understands the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers.
“We have had a relatively peaceful environment during this time because the [Finance and Labour Relations Ministries] have made a special effort to create a partnership with labour and employers, which enables information-sharing and an understanding of where we are going as a government. I think we have kept faith with that.”
“I can assure you that we are clearly aware of the level of salaries that we have for our people, and we also know the impact on our revenue. By all means, we’ll strike a balance that is sustainable. Let me assure you that, we’ll not compromise on fair negotiations.”
Akufo-Addo’s assurance
On the same issue of making the Ghanaian worker better, President Akufo-Addo has also said, although the government is adopting strict measures to revive the Ghanaian economy, the salaries of public sector workers will not stay the same for the next four years.
Speaking at the 11th Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the Trades Union Congress in Kumasi, President Akufo-Addo assured that “salary increments for public sector works have not been frozen for the next four years”.
“The truth of the matter is that we are not in normal times, and we are appealing to all Ghanaians including organised labour to assist the government in this endeavour to help rebuild our public finances and economy,” he added.