The Coalition Against Leadership of TUC and Organized Labour in Favour of Ghanaian Workers has on August 10, 2021 petition President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Parliament of Ghana over 4% and 7% salary increment for 2021 and 2022 public sector workers.
In a petition signed by Azubila Emmanuel Abdul-Salam, the Executive Secretary of the Coalition stated that they believe the Finance Minister and Labour Union Representatives who represented the Labour front at the Tripartite Committee meeting where the 4% and 7% salary increment were agreed for 2021 and 2022 did not do so in the utmost interest of Ghanaians workers.
Below is the full Petition
10TH AUGUST 2021
H.E NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
JUBILEE HOUSE
ACCRA.
Your Excellency:
PETITION TO INTERVENE TO REVIEW 4% AND 7% SALARY INCREMENT FOR 2021 AND 2022 PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS.
Coalition Against The Leadership of TUC and Organized Labour in Favour of Ghanaian Workers is made up of Civil Society Organizations and Leadership of Local Union and a section of Ghanaian public sector workers numbering over 20,000.
Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement Ghana (ADAM-GH), Conveners of Fix The Country and over Twenty Thousand (20,000) Ghanaian public sector workers who formed this Coalition strongly believe that, the Finance Minister and our Labour Union Representatives who represented the Labour front at the Tripartite Committee meeting where the 4% and 7% salary increment were agreed for 2021 and 2022 respectively did not do so in the utmost interest of Ghanaians workers hence the need for your urgent intervention.
Your Excellency, Reference to Professor Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu’s report on emoluments of Article 71 office holders, the general recommendation relating to the implementation of Article 71 on page 57 of the report with reference number: PCE/2020-Rec.05 categorically states that:
” The percentage increase granted to Article 71 office holders in any particular year should not exceed what is granted to public servants”.
That “In recommending the adjustments to the salaries of the Article 71 office holders, the committee took cognisance of the levels of salaries and relativities in the public service. This recommendation is informed by the government’s stated intention to ensure that base pay in the country is decent and the gap between the highest and the lowest income in the public service is reduced”.
Mr. President this does not support the facts on the ground as the Annual Gross Salary of a Principal Superintendent in the Ghana Education Service for instance is similar to the Monthly Gross Salary of a Member of Parliament who is an Article 71 office holder and it is for such yawning disparities in our salary levels coupled with the 4% killer salary increment that necessitated our knock on your door this day.
Against this background, we are saying if Cabinet Ministers, Ministers and their Deputies, Parliamentarians, the Judiciary and your good Office and that of your Vice have begun to enjoy the implementation of this report which further recommended the payment of the first and second Ladies salaries commensurate with that of a cabinet Minister consistent with General Recommendation PCE/2020.Rec.04 of the report, it is just fair that you implement General recommendation PCE/2020.Rec.05 of that same report which also suggest annual increment for the public sector workers should be respected.
Being guided by the General Recommendations of the Professor Yaa Ntiamoa Baidu’s report, we are saying give us the same salary increment as Article 71 office holders or apply the principle of “leadership by example” and reduce Article 71 office holders salary increment to the 4% benchmark in order to resonate with the common phraseology of not being in normal times on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Honestly, Your Excellency, our Labour Union leaders who represented Ghanaian workers and your Finance Minister have been very unfair to Ghanaian workers and exercised their duties in bad faith for a reason best known to them.
The fact of the matter is that Ghanaian workers can not just survive with the 4% and 7% salary increment for 2021 and 2022 respectively in the wake of the introduction of new taxes at the beginning of this year which devastating and dire socio-economic consequences have not spared the already suffering Ghanaian public sector worker.
These taxes are as follows:
1. Covid-19 Health Levy
2. 1% National Health
Insurance levy (NHIL)
3. 5% Financial Sector clean up levy.
4. Introduction of Sanitation and Pollution levy (Bola tax)
5. Increase of 1% Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA)
6. Increase of 1% Value Added tax (VAT) Flat Rate.
7. Road toll increase
8. Fuel price hikes and its attendant 13% Transport fares increases which has inextricably led to a rise in prices of foodstuffs and other general goods and services.
This has further impacted adversely on the prices of Cement which have increased from GHc32.00 as at December 2020 to Ghc50.00 representing 34% increment.
Again, one (1) tonne of Reinforcement bars (Iron Rods) that used to be Ghc 3,500.00 is now Ghc5,800.00 representing 23% increment. The cost of sand and stones for construction just to mention but a few have not been spared either.
This means that the cost of rent and construction works has gone high beyond the salary limit of an average Public sector worker.
.
Undoubtedly, these numerous taxes have impacted negatively on the living conditions of Ghanaian public sector workers.
Your Excellency, this therefore suggests that, Ghanaian workers can not survive with the 4% and 7% salary increment.
It is pretty obvious that on the face of the evidence above your Finance Minister and our Labour Union leaders did not consider the welfare of Ghanaian workers for a reason best known to them but rather chose to subject the working class whom you call “Fellow Ghanaians’ to extreme economic hardship.
All the reasons given by the Finance Minister and our Union leaders for accepting the woefully inadequate 4% annual salary increment was not only frivolous but unjustifiable strongly supported with the reasons stated below:
1.They said your government threatened them with retrenchment if they fail to accept the 4%. In some instances they said your government threatened them with redundancy if they failed to accept the 4%. Ghanaian workers believe this is unfair treatment. Your finance minister failed to realize that seven hundred thousand Ghanaian public sector workers control the purchasing power of goods and services in the country and subjecting us to such economic hardship must definitely have a direct impact on the economy of small scale businesses as we know that every payday reflects in the lives of many Ghanaians.
They said your government intends to employ one million workers across the public sector within the next three years. This is so refreshing to hear as our brothers and sisters will be given the opportunity to work for their country. However, we believe that your Finance Minister can not threaten to lay off workers based on redundancy and said he wants to recruit one million workers into those same redundant positions. Redundancy as we all know affects positions of the worker and not the worker as a person. What it means is that, it is their positions that became redundant while their service in the redundant positions are no longer needed. We find this argument very contradictory because redundant positions can not be filled with new employment.Our problem is, do you have to make some employees redundant in order to employ others❓
Isn’t it the responsibility of the state to Vaccinate the citizens against pandemics❓
Should the government reduce the income of the suffering public Sector workers to be able to buy vaccines to do mass vaccinations❓
Has the principle of “Leadership by example” missing under your Leadership❓
Please, sir, Your Excellency, with all due respect, we the public sector workers are paying multiples of taxes under your government with a partial stagnant salaries we therefore, hope you would analyze deeply the high cost of living in the current state of the economy and give us a relief for the high Taxes.
As a father of the country we are calling for your intervention to re-adjust the 4% salary increment for 2021 and 7% for 2022.
We hope this plea shall receive your kind consideration.
Signed
Azubila Emmanuel Abdul-Salam
( Executive Secretary of the Coalition)
Contact: 0544418072/0507629533
Anthony Morkeh
Public Relations Officer of the Coalition.
Contact: 0209983947
John Kwame Adu Jack
Dep. P R O of the Coalition.
Contact: 0208307003
Ibrahim A. Mumuni Director of Operations
Contact: 0243486397
CC:
Speaker of Parliament.
Majority leader of Parliament.
Minority leader of Parliament.
Minister for Labour.
Secretary Generals Trade Congress (TUC)/Organized Labour.
Source: Muhammed Faisal Mustapha