All strikes expected to end as government agrees to pay 15% COLA

The government has agreed to pay 15% (of base pay) Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to all public sector workers effective July 1.

This follows recent agitations on the labour front with some groups resorting to strikes to demand the payment of 20% COLA in the wake of the increased cost of living.

Confirming the agreement reached today via a Twitter post, Information Minister Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah said the government was committed to ameliorating the plight of Ghanaians during these challenging times.

“Government and organised Labour have concluded negotiations for Cost of Living Allowance. A 15% allowance has been agreed effective July 1. Govt is keen on mitigating the impact of global challenges on the people of Ghana,” he tweeted.

In further documents sighted by GhanaWeb, per the new agreement all strike actions by organized labour is to be called off immediately and members return to work.

The agreement was signed by Employment and Labour Relations Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress, Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah and Finance Minster ken Ofori-Atta.

The other signatories were Chief Executive of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Ing Benjamin Arthur and President of Ghana registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Pepertual Ofori-Ampofo who signed for Organised Labour.

It will be recalled that pre-tertiary teacher unions in declared an indefinite strike action on July 4 with immediate effect following the failure of government to pay the cost of living allowance (COLA) they demanded.

The unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union.

This opened the floodgates for other unions including Public Sector Workers Union, Ghana Medical Association, Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana to issue an ultimatum demanding COLA or in turn embark on strike.