‘We can’t survive on 4% salary increment’ – Public sector workers demonstrate

Some aggrieved public sector workers have taken to the streets of Accra to register their displeasure over “inadequate” increments in salaries.

Led by a group calling itself the ‘Aggrieved Public Sector Workers’, they have rejected the base pay increase of 4 per cent for 2021 and 7 per cent for 2022.

According to them, the increments cannot cushion them against various taxes and levies introduced by the government.

They also cited poor working conditions, which compelled them to hit the streets.

The plight of the workers has been worsened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Clad in red and black attires, the agitated workers carried placards and chanted war songs as they marched through the principal streets of Accra on Wednesday, August 18.

They had an agreement with the police to start from the Obra Spot through Kwame Nkrumah Avenue towards Fariso Traffic Light to Cedi House through to AU Roundabout and end at the Independence Square.

Some of the placards read: ‘We can’t survive on 4% increment’, ‘Treat workers like humans, not slaves’, ‘Say no to 4% virus’, ”We are suffering in the land of our birth’, ‘TUC and Organised labour: If you have no interest in our welfare, we have no interest in your leadership’.

Earlier, the leadership of organized labour had indicated that the low percentage increment allowed the government to employ over one million workers in the public service.

But the workers have rejected the outcome, insisting that they were not involved in the decision-making process.

“They should go and renegotiate and come back with a reasonable percentage,” one of the demonstrators said.

The group wants public sector salaries to be increased by 25%.

Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah, had urged workers to be calm after the negotiations were made.

“The outcome was not what we had expected, but it could have been worse, given the economic challenges and the stance of government towards pay rise, particularly in 2021,” Dr Baah noted.

According to the TUC, they reached a consensus with the government to ensure that no public sector workers redundancy for the next two years.

However, the Convener of the agitated group, Norbert Gborgbotsi, told the media that they would repeat the demonstration until the government addresses their concerns.