Will Public Sector Workers Be Paid Cost Of Living Allowance In January 2023?

Will Public Sector Workers Be Paid Cost Of Living Allowance In January 2023?

Cost of living allowance (COLA) for Public Sector Workers in Ghana is still uncertain to be paid as workings are awaiting a decision or a resolution from the government.

The Government of Ghana introduced 15% base pay Cost of Living Allowance last year to aid residents to cope with high cost of living. Per agreement, the COLA expired in December 2022.

According to a report on the AM Show, Joy News, the President of Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Frank Serebour, said workers are not expecting COLA this January as issues regarding payment and extension are still in limbo.

“The issue of COLA has not even been discussed and as we speak, January, essentially COLA will not be paid because we have not agreed on the fact that COLA should be paid because COLA was supposed to end in December. So the 15% will go off and if we are not able to conclude, that’d essentially mean that salaries of public sector workers will see a 15% dip, so we need to conclude,” Dr. Frank Serebour said as he rather expects 15% slash in public sector worker’s’ salaries.

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On the contrary, Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo who is the President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association (GRNMA), expects the allowance to be paid.

“…we are all expecting, is for the ‘COLA to run, until we are done with the base pay negotiations and then, the directive is given to Controller to implement. Then, I think we will have some peace,” she stated.

Meanwhile, salary negotiation ended behind closed doors (January 10) with the government of Ghana standing at 21% with cola while organised labour remained at 36% without COLA pending approval from the government.

When salaries are paid in January without COLA, it is possible that workers will jump into agitations.