The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) has backed calls from the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) for the government to increase the salaries of public sector workers urgently or face a series of industrial actions.

Mr Abraham Koomson, GFL Secretary-General stated this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema on Monday in reaction to the announcement from Dr Yaw Baah, TUC Secretary-General to embark on industrial action.

According to the TUC, the trade union body is ready to undertake a series of industrial actions the country had never seen if the government does not increase salaries as soon as possible.

The TUC had also stated that the employer should index workers’ pay to the inflation rate while cautioning the government against using the impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war to justify the non-increment of salaries.

Ghana Federation of Labour

Mr Koomson said, “Ghana Federation of Labour will support such an action if the government does not change its insensitive posture to workers’ lamentations.”

He added that Dr Baah’s public announcement on the need for the government to address workers deteriorated conditions of service due to the high cost of living sent signals on the collective resolve of the unions to decisively take on the authorities.

He explained that meetings involving the Labour Centres made up of TUC, CLOGSAG and GFL, affiliate unions and independent unions and associations had taken place recently during which the performance of organized labour was critically assessed.

The GFL Secretary-General added that a decision was taken after the assessment to formally adopt structures to take up broader issues concerning workers in Ghana.

He disclosed that a technical committee would be constituted very soon to finalise preparations for the establishment of structured organized labour.

Mr Koomson further said that meanwhile, the technical sub-committee of the National Tripartite Committee was in the process of coming up with proposals for the national daily minimum wage and the public sector base pay.