Economist, Dr. Daniel Amateye Anim is urging the government to be open and transparent in dealing with these unions, in the midst of growing agitation from labour.
The government is currently facing rising demands from labour unions demanding, among other things, an improvement in their conditions of service.
Since the beginning of this year, many labour unions such as the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG), Technical University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (TUTAG), Medical Laboratory Professionals Workers Union (MELPWU), Colleges of Education Teachers’ Association of Ghana (CETAG), Ghana Association of Universities Administrators (GAUA) among others have made different kinds of demands on government and embarked on different industrial actions.
These agitations come at a time when the deteriorating economy forced the government into an IMF program. The bailout program came with several conditionalities including a Debt Restructuring Program due to the unsustainable debt levels. Under the program, the government has also been advised to be prudent in its expenditure to control debt and stabilize the economy.
Moreover, the demands are also coming at a time when the government is marking time for a major general election which can decide its fate to stay or exit office. In addition, Ghana’s election years over the period have been characterized by uncontrolled fiscal indiscipline which derails economic gains made in the years prior.
Some analysts believe that given the current state of the economy under an IMF resuscitation and a major election ahead, the demands of the labor unions are putting the government between a rock and a hard place.
Suggesting how the government can navigate through the demands of labour without destroying the gains made from the IMF program, Senior Economist at the Policy Initiative for Economic Development, Dr. Daniel Amateye Anim-Prempeh tells The High Street Journal that interactions should be transparent and honest.
“I think dialogue and transparency. I think at the negotiating table, if you have that posture you can what afford it takes to be able to meet the demand of labor. If the same is expected of you and you are not able to deliver it, you trigger the anger of organized labor. We should be able to explain the dynamics to them that because we are under IMF conditions, we will not be able to do ABCD. We hope by the time we are out of that, this is what we envisage to be able to do. However, within our capacity and the fiscal space allowable, this is what we can do to meet you halfway. So transparency, dialogue and engagement. If you sit aloof before labor triggers their demand, it will be very difficult to quench that particular fire,” Dr. Daniel Anim in an interview with The High Street Journal noted.
The economist further agreed that approving all the demands of labour may potentially distort the stability and growth of the economy hence government must be tactful.
“Because we have almost all the labour unions demanding for ABCD, I don’t have the data but if you put the quantum together it is something that will really affect government revenue. Because you don’t have to use debt to be able to pay this, and this one must come from domestic resources and because your domestic revenue is not too sufficient; if you are not able to meet it within this particular time, then you will be compared to go for debt. So what you do is that you meet them halfway, okay, while you also try to raise sufficient revenue to be able to manage the economy better,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Social Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana believes the rising labour demands in recent times are a result of the cedi depreciation contributing to the high cost of living.
“It must be reiterated that the high exchange rate in Ghana has partly contributed to labor agitations, high cost of doing business, and the collapse of some businesses while others relocated to more business-friendly countries,” ISSER in its report on the 2024 Mid Year Budget Review stated.
