The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has assured that the government is working to resolve the prolonged salary delays affecting teachers, nurses, and junior doctors, promising that all affected workers will be paid before the end of the year.
His comments come after waves of street protests by frustrated public sector workers who claim to have served for over 10 months without pay.
The Junior Doctors’ Association has also threatened to withdraw its services if the government fails to address the situation soon.
Speaking at the Ghana Healing Labor Summit, Dr. Pelpuo said the current administration is determined to settle the arrears and ensure that no affected worker is dismissed.
“The government has decided to look into their case and respond to ensure that they are not laid off but are working,” he said.
“Before the end of the year, they will be responded to comprehensively, and nobody is going to go home saying they are not paid.”
Dr. Pelpuo, however, attributed the problem to what he described as a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, which he said engaged thousands of workers without financial clearance or budgetary provision.
“It has become the DNA of the NPP party,” he stated. “When former President Kufuor was leaving, he signed a salary scheme that was very difficult for the late President Mills to handle. This time again, when they were leaving, they picked people all over the place, and it is something we are now responding to.”
The minister explained that the current administration inherited a huge backlog of unpaid wages due to these unapproved recruitments, but insisted that the Finance Ministry is already taking steps to address the issue.
“The Finance Minister has responded to it, and I am very confident that before long, he will resolve it. I cannot give a specific date at this moment, but I can tell you that at our meeting with him, he has taken it up and has been working on it for a considerable while,” he added.
Dr. Pelpuo emphasised that despite the fiscal challenges, the government remains committed to ensuring that all affected health and education workers receive their salaries soon.
“We have come to a point where I can say that they will be attended to before the year ends,” he assured.
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