Mr E.T.Mensah, Outgoing Minister Of Employment And Social Welfare

Workers will now enjoy a new national minimum wage of GH¢4.48, the National Tripartite Committee (NTC) has announced. The new minimum wage, which takes effect from February 9, 2012, represents a 20 per cent increment over the old minimum wage of GH¢3.73.

A communiqué issued by the committee to announce the new pay packet in Accra yesterday was signed jointly by Mr E.T.Mensah, the outgoing Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, on behalf of the government; Mr Teddy Darko, the President of the Ghana Employers of Association, on behalf of employers, and Mr Kofi Asamoah, the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, on behalf of organized labour.

The communiqué asked all establishments, institutions and organizations whose minimum wage was below the new wage of GH¢4.48 to adjust their wage accordingly.

The national minimum wage is the wage below which no worker should be paid. Expatiating on the new wage at a press briefing, Mr Mensah said it was to have been announced before the 2012 budget was presented but during that period, the committee embarked on broad consultations before the final announcement.

A member of the committee, Dr Yaw Baah, explained that the committee, among other things, took into account the rising cost of living and productivity at the national level before arriving at the new wage.

The Chief Executive of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Mr George Smith-Graham, told the Daily Graphic that the commission would increase the base pay of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) to reflect the new wage rise.

Source: Daily Graphic

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