Public sector workers secure 9% remuneration increase in 2027, 10% base pay rise in 2028
Public sector workers in Ghana are set to receive a 9% increase in total remuneration in 2027, followed by a 10% increase in base pay in 2028, under a new two-year agreement between the government and Organised Labour.
The agreement, signed on October 28, 2026, will run from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2028, and outlines the salary adjustments, inflation safeguards and compensation reforms agreed upon by both parties.
Under the deal, the 2027 adjustment will comprise an 8-percentage-point increase in base pay and a 1-percentage-point allocation towards workers’ conditions of service.
Clause three of the agreement states that the parties agreed “to an increase in total remuneration of 9%, effective 1st January, 2027; of this, 8 percentage points is earmarked for base pay increase across board and 1 percentage point for Conditions of Service.”
For 2028, workers will receive a 10% across-the-board increase in base pay, calculated using the applicable base pay as of December 31, 2027.
Clause four specifies “an increase of 10% across board base pay, effective 1st January, 2028, calculated on the applicable base pay at 31st December 2027.”
The agreement also includes a mechanism to reconsider the 2028 salary adjustment if inflation rises significantly above the government’s projection.
According to clause five, the agreed base pay for 2028 takes into account the prevailing inflation rate and the government’s expected inflation range for the next two years.
“The 2028 Base Pay is agreed having considered the current inflation of 5.2% and government’s inflation projection of 8%±2% for both 2027 and 2028,” the clause states.
The provision requires the Public Sector Joint Standing Negotiating Committee to reconvene if inflation at the end of 2027 exceeds the specified threshold.
It states that if December 2027 year-on-year inflation “overshoots the mid-point projection of 8% by a factor of two (2), the Public Sector Joint Standing Negotiating Committee shall reconvene to review the 2028 Base Pay.”
The clause provides a basis for reviewing the agreed pay adjustment should inflation deviate substantially from the forecast.
Beyond salary increases, the government and Organised Labour have agreed to examine selected allowances as part of planned changes to Ghana’s public sector compensation system.
The review is expected to address existing disparities in the compensation structure before the proposed transition from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to the Independent Public Emoluments Commission (IPEC).
Clause six states that the parties will use the transition period “to review some allowances with the view of addressing the distortions in the current compensation arrangement before the implementation of IPEC.”
The agreement also guarantees organised labour a role in discussions on reforms affecting public sector employees.
It provides that “Organised Labour shall be consulted quarterly on reforms affecting workers.”
Meanwhile, the FWSC and other existing institutions will continue to exercise their lawful functions until any transfer of authority takes legal effect.
The agreement was signed by Dr George Smith-Graham, Chief Executive of the FWSC, and Joshua Ansah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), representing the government and Organised Labour, respectively.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) General Secretary Thomas T. Musah witnessed the signing.
The two-year arrangement is intended to provide greater predictability in public sector pay while establishing a framework for addressing inflation risks and ongoing compensation reforms.
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