Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has assured the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of his administration’s preparedness to review the public pay structure to ensure equity and fairness to all employees.
He said working in collaboration with the TUC, his government would work to resolve the wide salary differentials with the public sector salary administration.
Dr Bawumia said the governance structure of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) must be restructured to enable contributions to play a pivotal role in determining how their funds are used.
Responding to Organised Labour at a forum in Accra on Wednesday, Dr Bawumia said his administration would strengthen the National Labour Commission (NLC) to establish offices across the country to enable it (NLC) to operate effectively.
Dr Bawumia, who is also the New Patriotic Party’s presidential candidate, said he would make sure the new Labour Act is reviewed and passed under his administration to protect workers.
The Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) regulates employment and labour issues in Ghana. The Act consolidates all laws relating to labour, employers, trade unions and industrial relations.
Dr Bawumia stated his plans to implement a flat tax rate in 2025 after granting tax amnesty to every individual and business in the country.
On stabilising the depreciation of the Cedi, Vice President Bawumia said the Bank of Ghana (BoG) with its significant gold reserves would serve as a bulwark to provide stability to the currency.
His government, Dr Bawumia maintained, would ensure all gold concessions in the country are owned by Ghanaians and gold processed in the country is sold to the central bank to shore up Ghana’s reserves.
“My government would resource the Geological Survey Authority and technical universities to undertake exploration of the seven gold belts in the country to ensure that the gold concessions produced positive outcomes,” he stated.
Dr Bawumia outlined plans to establish a Minerals Development Bank to support small-scale miners to source funding for their businesses, a sector that could generate $3 billion annually.
Dr Bawumia assured that the Fiscal Responsibility Council would operate independently while downsizing his government’s expenditure by 3% of GDP, saving about GHc30 billion every year.
He affirmed his commitment to appointing not more than 50 Ministers and pledged to review Article 87 of the Constitution and National Development Planning Commission Act, (Act 479) to align with the development aspirations of the nation.
TUC General Secretary, Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, said Organised Labour had so far received four presidential candidates since November 2023 and believed they have good plans for the nation.
Dr Baah presented the TUC’s manifesto which highlighted six key thematic areas: social and human development, economic policy, labour market policy, energy and power, governance policy and climate change and environmental policy.
He was convinced those six areas which were key pillars the TUC had engaged with the Presidential candidates could transform the nation.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
