Ghana: Tariff hikes - Labour being 'too lenient'

The Communication Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea has charged Organised Labour to disagree with any tariff increases beyond 17 per cent. Nana Akomea described the stance of leaders of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) – who are demanding that tariffs should not be increased beyond 50 per cent across the board – as too lenient. The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) late last year approved 59.2 per cent and 67.2% upward tariff adjustments for electricity and power, respectively. The TUC went on a nationwide demonstration against it. Organised Labour also wants the recently passed energy sector levy, which has resulted in a 27% hike in petroleum prices, scrapped.

Organised Labour had planned following up the demonstration with a two-day nationwide strike, but Government called the leaders back to the negotiating table for further talks. Mr Akomea argued that any increase in utility tariffs and fuel prices should be proportional to the percentage increase in salaries received by public sector workers. “They should be asking for increases [in tariffs] of not more than 17 per cent to be in line with inflation and the 10 per cent increment [in salary].

Ghanaian workers have every right to protest, and the TUC has been generous. "I understand they can take an increment to up to 40 per cent or 50 per cent. They have been generous if indeed that is what they are asking for,” he said on Joy FM’s news analysis programme Newsfile on Saturday 23 January 2016. The spokesperson for the biggest opposition party maintains that “you [government] give the man [worker] a 10 per cent rise, but you increase petrol by 27 per cent, increase water by 67 per cent, increase electricity by 70 per cent. The Ghanaian worker is being reduced to nothing”. He said he supports protests by public sector workers because the current economic condition in the country places a huge burden on the ordinary Ghanaian.