The country’s National Daily Minimum Wage will increase from GH¢21.77 to GH¢25.04 effective January 1, 2027, representing a 25.4 per cent rise.
The wage will increase further to GH¢28.79 from January 1, 2028, following an agreement by the National Tripartite Committee to adopt a two-year wage framework. The Committee announced this in a communiqué yesterday.
The increase is expected to raise the minimum earnings of workers whose salaries are pegged to the national daily minimum wage, providing them with additional income to meet their daily expenses. For workers on the current minimum wage, the new rate will mean an additional GH¢3.27 for each working day from January next year. The further increase in 2028 will bring the daily minimum wage to GH¢7.02 above its current level.
The adjustment comes at a time when the cost of food, transportation, utilities and other necessities remains an important consideration for household budgets.
However, the extent to which the increase will improve workers’ purchasing power will depend partly on how prices of goods and services change over the period.
The communiqué was jointly signed by the Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum; the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem; the President of the Ghana Employers’ Association, Nana Dr Emmanuel Adu-Sarkodee Afriyie; and the Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress, Joshua Ansah.
Agreement
The agreement was reached after negotiations involving the government, employers and Organised Labour. The two-year arrangement, the Committee said, was to provide predictability in wage determination and support medium-term economic planning.
Under the arrangement, employers will have a clearer basis for planning their wage bills over the two years, while workers will know the minimum rate to expect in 2027 and 2028. The Committee has directed all establishments, institutions and organisations paying below the new minimum wage to adjust their rates from January next year. It also urged employers to comply with the agreed wage levels.
The implementation of the new rates will require employers currently paying below the revised threshold to increase their workers’ daily earnings accordingly. The Committee further recommended that the government make the National Daily Minimum Wage tax-exempt.
The Committee said the agreed rates could, however, be reviewed if there were significant changes in key economic indicators, including inflation, exchange rates and economic growth. Any review, it added, would be conducted through consultations among the tripartite partners, using credible economic data, with adjustments based on consensus.
Understanding the minimum wage
The National Daily Minimum Wage is the lowest amount an employer is legally required to pay a worker for a day's work.
It serves as a foundational safety net designed to protect workers from unduly low pay and ensure a basic standard of living. While it sets a floor for daily earnings, actual salaries for most formal sector workers are typically higher, determined by employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, or sector-specific negotiations.
The minimum wage is set by the National Tripartite Committee, which brings together representatives of the government, employers, and organised labour to agree on a fair rate.