[ 2016-01-28 ]

Govt, labour reach deal on tariff hikes
The government has agreed to provide relief for
lifeline consumers of electricity and the
vulnerable with effect from February 1, as it has
reached a deal with organised labour over the
increases in utility tariffs.

The agreement, which is expected to reduce tension
on the labour front, provides that customers
within the consumption range of zero to 50 units
will have their tariffs reduced from the present
59 per cent to 45 per cent, while consumers within
the range of 51 to 300 units will have theirs
reduced to 50 per cent.

All tariffs for the other consumption bands remain
unchanged.

The parties also agreed to continue discussions on
the 67 per cent increase in water tariffs.

However, the Energy Sector Levies Act, which was
one of the reasons that sent Ghanaian workers onto
the streets in protest, will stay.

Nevertheless, organised labour said it would
continue with engagements with the government over
that act.

Automatic tariff adjustment

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) read out to
journalists by the Minister of Employment and
Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, at the end of
the negotiations at the Flagstaff House also
touched on the automatic tariff adjustment.

“As agreed in 2013, the stakeholders have
renewed their commitment to the implementation of
the automatic tariff adjustment to avoid the large
increases associated with non-implementation and
its effect on incomes of households and
businesses,” it said.

Besides, the parties agreed that the Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG) should, within two weeks,
rectify all anomalies that had characterised the
utility tariff adjustments.

Responses

In his comment, the Secretary-General of the
Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah,
expressed satisfaction with the development so far
but said the petroleum levy needed to be looked at
again.

“I hereby confirm conclusions reached with the
government, the employers association and the AGI
with regard to the tariffs announced by the Public
Utilities Regulatory Commission.

“We also confirm the fact that we will continue
engagement on the other outstanding issues like
water and the levies,” he said.

The President of the Ghana Employers Association,
Mr Terence Darko, also said his outfit looked
forward to a stable working environment following
the decisions reached.

The AGI President, Mr James Asare-Adjei, stated
that the consensus building approach to the issues
was the best under the circumstances.

“What industry is looking forward to is
micro-economic stability, so that industry can
plan,” he added.

Background

Labour raised serious concerns following upward
adjustments in utility tariffs and petroleum
prices.

A joint negotiation committee comprising the
government, organised labour and other social
partners was constituted to address the concerns
of the workers.

In the course of the negotiations, Organised
Labour took to the streets in Accra and other
regional capitals in demonstration as part of a
road map that would have led to a strike if the
government had refused to address their concerns.

Other members of the government negotiating team
were the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper; a
Minister of State at the Presidency, Mr Elvis
Afriyie-Ankrah, and the Deputy Minister of Power,
Mr John Jinapor.

Source - Graphic online

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