THE Steering Committee of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on the government to increase the minimum wage from ?7,150 to ?12,000. Mr Kwasi Adu-Amnakwah, Secretary-General of TUC who announced this on Monday at an emergency meeting with the Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL), said the proposed 68-per cent increase does not take into full account the cost of living in the country.

He said the proposal “is a first step by the TUC to move workers in the country to receive a realistic wage to spur them on to increase productivity”.

The Secretary- General explained that the TUC is not proposing 68 per cent because it is satisfied with it, but as a gradual way of restoring the erosion in salaries over the year and also to absorb the increases in fuel prices”.

Mr Adu-Amankwah said the TUC had not proposed any minimum wage at any forum because it had not met the rank and file of its members since the fuel hike was announced.

He said in the opinion of the TUC, commercial drivers did not defy government’s directives to charge the 30 per cent increase on old transport fares which was later changed to 40 per cent, adding that “it was the market forces that dictated the fares.”

Mr Adu-Amankwah said workers might not be happy with the position of the TUC in its proposed percentage increases as decided upon by the steering committee, but cautioned that, “we should not have high expectations because we are not interested in populist demands”. Mr Adu-Amankwah conceded that looking at the cost of living index, the Ghanaian economy is weak, and stated that whatever wage demand is made is regarded as meagre.

He said it is for this reason that we have come out with this demand which our rank and file may not be happy with”.

“We are aware that 70 per cent of the government revenue is spent on payment of salaries, while our development budget depends on donor funding; therefore, when we make a demand beyond a certain limit, the government will be forced to print money to fuel inflation.”

He said these are factors that Ghanaians cannot ignore but called on workers to push hard their demands, otherwise getting a realistic wage would be a mere slogan.Mr Adu-Amankwah further conceded that realistic wage cannot be achieved in a day “but we should make a start, and this should be now,” adding that the ability to pay should affect everyone and that if those at the top cannot meet their demands, then, the base cannot demand much.

The TDCL, in a resolution requested for a 100 per cent increase in minimum wage following the 90.4 per cent increase in fuel prices.The TDCL gave the government up to January 31, to come out with a new minimum wage and demanded that any increase should start from January 1, 2003.