Government and striking labor unions have agreed on a 15% Cost of Living Allowance [COLA] to be paid to all public sector workers.
The 15% COLA takes retrospective effect from July 1, 2022.
With this agreement, all planned industrial actions have been suspended immediately.
“The Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) will be paid at a rate of 15 percent of base pay. That the effective date of the payment of COLA is 1st July 2022,” Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Ignatius Baffuor Awuah announced at a press briefing on Thursday.
This was the third meeting between the government and labour unions since the demand for COLA started.
The delegation from the government side was the Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum, Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffler Awuah and Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Attah together with his Deputy Abena Osei Asare.
A meeting between both parties on Tuesday was adjourned due to the refusal of some labour unions to call off their strike before negotiations commence.
“We have had to adjourn the meeting because both parties; labour and government think that we cannot do this while a party is on strike, so the agreement is that we are going off to talk to each other. They call off the strike and we come again to meet,” Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wereko-Brobbey said.
Read statement below: