Govt, Organised Labour to negotiate base pay in April

The government and organised labour will begin negotiations on the public sector base pay and the minimum wage for 2017 in April this year.

The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Idrissu, told the Daily Graphic that it was the intention of the government to negotiate base pay adjustments and increases before the budget.

Ability to pay

Mr Idrissu said the government would negotiate pay increases in the best economic interest of the country and based on its "ability to pay what the economy can largely absorb and accommodate".

He noted that organised labour would bring to the table the recent utility tariff increases, the Energy Sector Levies Act, the increased cost of living and other related matters.

"We will scrutinise these and assess them within our capacity to pay," he said.

Commitment

Mr Idrissu said 2016 posed a very unique and peculiar challenge because it was an election year and the possible transition of power.

"The 2017 base pay negotiation promises to be tough because it is an election year," he said.

The minister said he was confident that President John Dramani Mahama would respect the decisions on salary increases that the National Tripartite Committee would arrive at.

"I am extremely optimistic and confident that President Mahama will implement those pay increases," he said.