The Parliament’s Minority Caucus on Employment, Labour Relations, and Pensions has slammed the recently signed Multi-Year Public Service Remuneration Agreement for 2027 and 2028, labeling the 9% overall compensation increase for public sector employees as an insult.
The Caucus stated in a press release issued on October 30 and signed by Ranking Member Mavis Nkansah Boadu that the agreement, which was finalized on October 28, gives public sector workers a pitiful nine percent total remuneration increase for 2027 and ten percent for 2028. It characterized this as a direct attack on employees’ dignity, particularly when contrasted with the escalating load of utility tariff hikes imposed on people.
According to the Caucus, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has made repeated compounding adjustments that have caused the cost of living to soar, even though public sector employees are restricted by sub-inflationary wage increases.
The Caucus emphasized that the cost of cooking gas, transportation rates, and water tariffs have all increased significantly, with water tariffs up roughly 18% and electricity now costing around 29% more than it did at the beginning of 2025. They then compared these increases to the rising cost of living.
It observed that, with Accra at the upper end of that range, residential rents increased by an estimated eight to fourteen percent year over year.
The Caucus further charged the government with unfair fiscal burden shifting, asserting that it asks employees to accept wage restrictions for economic recovery while allowing continuous increases in utility rates, rent, transportation costs, and cooking gas, effectively robbing teachers, nurses, and government employees from both ends.
It further charged bad faith in negotiations, saying that the effort to impose a restrictive two-year framework was a trick to restrict workers’ options. The Caucus urged the leadership of organized labor to publish the suggestions offered and to clarify to its members the basis on which the agreement was made.
Through the recall of the Public Services Joint Standing Negotiating Committee, complete protection against the cost of living, authentic respect for Organized Labor, and accountability to the rank and file, the Minority Caucus asked for an urgent reassessment of the remuneration structure.
“The Ghanaian worker merits respect, economic fairness, and a reasonable portion of the country’s riches,” the announcement further stated.
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