President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, emphasized that the painstakingly arrived at base pay increment of 23% for the year 2024 was the outcome of a two-day negotiation between Organised Labour and the government.
Initially, Organized Labour had demanded a 75.1% increase in base pay for the upcoming year. However, on Monday, they revised their proposal to 60%, which was subsequently rejected by the government, putting forth a counteroffer of a 15% increment.
Following further discussions on Tuesday, November 14, both parties reached a consensus on a 23% raise, with an additional 2% expected in July, bringing the total to 25%.
Mr. Carbonu, speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story after the agreement, expressed that while the settled percentage is an improvement, it falls short of being a comprehensive solution to the economic challenges faced by the people.
“This salary increase was painstakingly arrived at …the general economic malaise is such that one wonders if one gets a percentage salary increase, it affects our economic situation because every day inflation is moving ahead of the monies that we have,” he said on Tuesday, November 14.
Despite his reservations, Mr. Carbonu acknowledged that the agreed-upon 23% increment, set to be readjusted to 25% in July 2024, is an improvement from the current earning levels.
On the other hand, Dr. Isaac Bampoe Addo, the Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), expressed dissatisfaction with the increment. He asserted that the government should present a more favorable offer during the next round of negotiations.
Dr. Addo emphasized the need for the government to scrutinize and address inefficiencies in the system to facilitate a better deal for labor.
“Government upon government, whatever colour it is, has always complained about no money, they’ve given all sorts of reasons but we have resolved that this must change,” he added.