Civil servants in Ghana have been smiling to the bank as their incomes have seen a 15 percent increase from the month of March.
The pay increase was agreed as far back as August 2016 and effected in March 2020, thus bringing some relief to civil servants in such difficult times.
The imposition of restrictions and the recently raised partial lockdown came with some economic pressure, as some houses- contrary to government recommendations- participated in panic-buying to stock vital items, particularly food.
The pay rise entered into impact after the Ministry of Finance directed the Controller & Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) that from March 2020, 15 percent of the 2020 monthly basic salary is to be paid as a premium to the staff of the civil service and city government service workers. The instruction stated the payment will work from January 1, 2020. As a result, associated financial obligations are to be paid in a single tranche at the end of March 2020.
The letter further stated that the payment brings closure to all concerns contained in the Memorandum of Comprehending (MOU) signed in between the Ministry of Work and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Financing and Fair Salaries and Salaries Commission and the Regional and civil Federal government Staff Association Ghana (CLOGSAG) on August 18, 2016, in which the 15 percent premium was agreed.
Considering that the beginning of the year, Civil and Local Federal government Personnel were given a 10 percent boost in incomes, a relocation that contrasted the MoU signed.
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CLOGSAG threatened to start a strike in early March to express their displeasure against the government’s decision not to honour the demand for a 15 percent increment in premium for its members given that January.
