Labour economist wants strict measures against employers underpaying staff

pulse-ghana admin

March 10, 2017 4:12 PM

Labour economist calls on stakeholders to ensure informal workers are not paid below the country's minimum wage.

Labour economist at the University of Ghana, Dr. Baah Boateng has called on government to take a firm decision and strictly enforce compliance of the minimum wage.

The country’s minimum wage currently stands at GHc 8.80 which translates into a minimum monthly salary of GHc 264, but many companies are paying their employees below the nationally agreed pay.

A research conducted by the Trades Union Congress covering the period 2015 and 2016 has revealed that, about 66 percent of workers in the informal sector are paid below the minimum wage.

20 percent of the underpaid workers are auto-mechanics and traders in textiles. The findings sampled 728 auto-mechanics and textile traders in Accra and Kumasi.

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Reports show some workers in the informal sector receiving less than 200 cedis a month, a wage which analyst say is woefully inadequate.

Dr. Baah Boateng is therefore calling for a review of the minimum wage as well as the enforcement of the law to improve such phenomenon. He questioned:

"Why must some informal workers earn less than GHc 200 a month? This is a terrible situation."

In a related development, the Deputy Secretary General of the trade Union Congress(TUC) Joshua Ansah has however pledged his outfit’s commitment to assist the workers to fight for their rights.

pulse-ghana admin