The Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) has described the 9% increment in base pay for the 2026 fiscal year as a difficult but responsible decision aimed at maintaining Ghana’s economic stability.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Joshua Kodjo Mensah on Monday, November 10, TEWU’s General Secretary, King James Azortibah, acknowledged that while many workers are disappointed, the unions prioritized the nation’s economic health over immediate personal gains.
“For now, nobody would want to take it easy because it’s not like you are happy with it,” he admitted.
“But given all the circumstances and all of us trying to respect the country, we want to believe that the real value of our money, given the stability of the dollar and inflation rate, is something that you don’t see as a loss at all.”
Mr. Azortibah emphasized that pushing for higher increments could have worsened inflation and led to more taxes on workers.
“It’s better to have a stable economy than a high percentage and then government will go another way to take those money through taxes and inflationary costs,” he noted.
He further stated that morale among union members remains high despite mixed feelings about the final agreement.
“Morale is high because people don’t expect a new government that will always be complaining everything is not good. They are just giving them the opportunity to prove all Ghanaians wrong,” he said.
His comments follow the signing of a new wage agreement between government and organized labour, which raised the base pay on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) by 9% for 2026.
The deal, concluded on Sunday, November 9, 2025, under the Public Services Joint Standing Negotiating Committee (PSJSNC), will take effect from January to December 2026.
Meanwhile, some concerned labour unions have rejected the agreement, demanding a minimum 20% increment instead.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
