The Ghanaian government has announced that public sector workers who take home the minimum wage will have their monthly salaries increased by 23% from January 2024.

The announcement was made on Tuesday following a meeting between representatives of the government and the labour union.

The increment would be on basic salaries, the government said in a statement through Employment and Labour Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah.

Between July and December 2024, the minimum-pay employees would receive an extra 2%, to take the total increment on monthly salaries to 25%.

70% pay rise demand

The labour union had demanded a 70% increase on the minimum wage to factor in inflation.

Following negotiations with the government, Ghana's Trades Union Congress (TUC), through its Secretary-General Anthony Yaw Baah, accepted the two-phased increase on workers' salaries.

Currently, Ghana's monthly minimum wage is roughly 402 cedis ($33.65). With the proposed adjustments, it means that the minimum basic pay for public sector workers would increase to about 495 cedis ($41.40) in January, and 502.50 cedis ($42.05) in July 2024.