The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has issued a strong warning to the government that workers will resist the newly announced utility tariff increases unless salaries for 2026 are revised upward beyond the 9 per cent increment earlier agreed.
The union says it will not accept what it describes as “insensitive” and “punitive” increases in electricity and water tariffs without a corresponding adjustment in wages to cushion workers.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) on Monday announced a 9.8% increase in electricity tariffs and a 15.9% rise in water tariffs, both scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
That same date marks the implementation of the government-approved 9 per cent increase in the national minimum wage and base pay for public sector workers.
The TUC argues that the coincidence of the tariff hikes with the modest wage increase amounts to the government sweeping away the little relief workers were expecting in the new year.
In its statement, the union described the move as a harsh “New Year’s gift” to Ghanaians who are already struggling under heavy economic pressures.
“Workers cannot accept these increases unless the government comes back to the negotiating table to top up the wage increase for 2026,” the statement said.
“Anything short of that, the TUC will mobilise workers to resist the implementation of these insensitive increases in utility prices.”
The union emphasised that the 9 per cent salary adjustment negotiated for 2026 has effectively been neutralised by the new tariff hikes.
It stressed that the increases will push many workers deeper into hardship as household budgets are already overstretched by rising food prices, transport fares and rent.
“This increment has completely eroded the 9 per cent wage adjustment for 2026,” the TUC declared.
“Clearly, government is demonstrating its insensitivity to the daily struggles of workers and Ghanaians.”
Recalling the pattern of recent years, the union noted that in 2025 government granted a 10% wage increase while electricity tariffs rose cumulatively by more than 18%.
It argued that the latest adjustments reinforce a widening gap between rising costs and stagnant income levels, worsening the living conditions of workers across the country.
According to the TUC, the government’s action is akin to “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” insisting that the administration has effectively taken back the very wage increase it promised workers.
“In plain language, government has robbed the poor Ghanaian worker of the 9 per cent wage increase it had agreed to implement on January 1, 2026,” it said.
The union announced that it will hold a press conference on Monday, 8 December 2025, where it plans to outline a series of actions to challenge what it calls an “obnoxious” tariff increase. The press briefing, to be convened jointly by the TUC and Organised Labour, is expected to detail the strategies the labour movement will deploy should the government fail to revisit the wage negotiations.
With workers expressing growing frustration over living costs and the perceived erosion of real wages, the latest confrontation sets the stage for a potentially turbulent transition into the new year. The TUC says it will stand firm until government demonstrates a genuine commitment to easing the burden on workers rather than compounding it.
