In the days before the coming into force of the current Labour Act (Act 651), issues concerning minimum wages for workers always generated controversy between employees and employers, creating animosity between workers and the government.
That is why, with the coming into force of Act 651, the National Tripartite Committee (NTC) was established, in line with Section 13 of the act.
The committee is tasked to determine the national minimum daily wage (NMDW), advise the government on employment and labour market issues, consult with partners in the labour market on matters of social and economic importance, as well as promote employment and industrial peace at the workplace.
It is made up of the minister of Employment and Labour Relations as chairperson, together with five representatives of the government; five representatives of the Ghana Employers Association and five representatives of organised labour.
It is, therefore, seen as the most representative and acceptable group for the negotiations.
To most people in the working class, especially in the public sector, the committee’s task of determining the national minimum wage stands out, obviously because of the importance of emoluments to workers.
Last Friday, the NTC resumed sitting to consider the NMDW. The Daily Graphic welcomes the resumption in the face of the current economic situation in the country, which has rendered the May 1, 2013 minimum wage of GH¢5.24 woefully inadequate.
At last Friday’s meeting, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations is reported to have urged the committee to work together in good faith and consider budgetary constraints in determining this year’s minimum wage.
The committee, no doubt, will be seeking to arrive at a new figure in the face of the increase in the VAT rate to 17.5 per cent and the fall in the value of the cedi against the major trading currencies which have resulted in the rise in the prices of most commodities.
Again, recent increases in utility tariffs and transport fares arising from the upward adjustment in fuel prices have resulted in a situation where workers expect a ‘higher-than-usual’ adjustment in this year’s base pay.
The NMDW is a safety net and no employee is expected to be paid below that amount. We are aware that a subcommittee of the NTC has already deliberated and worked on all the mitigating factors concerning the minimum wage and the necessary consultations among the parties are ongoing to ensure that the expectations of workers are met.
Since the minimum wage normally does not take retrospective effect, the Daily Graphic expects that the committee will do its work diligently and with dispatch, so that an agreement can be reached sooner than later to assuage the harsh living conditions that workers face.
