To avoid a situation where earnings of workers get eroded due to rising inflationary pressures, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has cautioned government to stay within the single figure inflation target.
In August this year after deliberations of the National Tripartite Committee (NTC), the daily minimum wage for 2019 was raised by about 10 percent, reaching GHC 10.65 from GHC 9.68 in 2018.
Effective from January 1, 2019 all institutions whose Daily Minimum Wage is below the new National Daily Minimum Wage are expected to adjust their wages upward.
In an interview at the Organized Labour Post –Budget policy forum in Accra on Tuesday, the Deputy Secretary General of TUC, Joshua Ansah said the decision for a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage for 2019 was based on the assurance from government to keep inflation at not more than 9 percent.
“…but if this goes beyond the 9 percent target, then it means the confidence in which we all reposed to accept the 10 percent increase, will be eroded.”
However, government has been able to keep consumer price inflation within its target for much of the year. In January the inflation dropped to 10.3 percent after reaching 11.8 percent in December 2017. Currently the inflation rates stands at 9.5 percent.
What is minimum wage?
Minimum wage, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), is “the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract.”
The purpose of a minimum wage is to protect workers against unduly low pay.
By Joshua W. Amlanu
