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Organised Labour says it finds government�s proposed freeze on pay increase for this year strange. In a recent statement issued in Accra signed by Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of Trades Union Congress (TUC), it stated: �We find government�s statement made symbolically on April Fool�s Day full of inconsistencies. A critical analysis of the policy statement leaves us with one obvious conclusion: that Government has once again demonstrated that it is totally insensitive to the harsh economic and social conditions the working people of Ghana and their families are facing. It stated that �instead of enhancing the welfare of public sector workers who are toiling day and night to provide invaluable services for the people of Ghana, government is rather proposing a moratorium on public sector wage increase in 2014. Instead of seeking to improve the wellbeing of the poor in society, government is rather determined to continue the socially unfriendly policy of complete withdrawal of utility and petroleum subsidies, in accordance with the dictates of the IMF. We wonder why government thinks that it can combine such policies all at once. How can government, which professes to have the interest of Ghanaians at heart increase tariffs on utilities, increase VAT, increase fuel prices, abolish allowance payment to teacher and nursing trainees, and at the same time propose a moratorium on wages, all at the same time? This is unthinkable and unacceptable.� Advice to Government �We are fully convinced that if government is bold enough to abandon the IMF textbook macro-economic policies and adopt the right social and economic policies Ghana will be out of this crisis in no time. What we need are policies that will take Ghana out of the current situation where over 8 million out of the 26 million Ghanaians find themselves in poverty despite all the natural and human resources endowment in the country, including oil.� The removal of subsidies on fuel and utilities, the increase in the highly retrogressive VAT from 15 to 17.5 percent on consumer items, including food and medicine are undeniably the main causes of the high and ever increasing inflation and cost of living, which have actually pushed more Ghanaians into poverty, it said. Job Creation The TUC said instead of adopting policies that would create decent jobs for the teeming youth roaming the streets of Accra and other urban centres, government is rather continuing the policy of net freeze on employment in the public service, the rationalization of public sector staff in MDAs (including encouraging early retirement of public sector workers), as well as public sector reforms, with particular emphasis on right-sizing the public service. �We would like to warn government that Organised Labour would do whatever it takes to resist such policies, with particular reference to the so-called moratorium on public sector wage increase. We should remind government that public sector workers are paid for the invaluable services they provide to Ghanaians. Any attempt to reduce the real value of their earnings will negatively affect the delivery of such services, including health care, education and security.� It therefore called on members of Organised Labour, groups, civil society organisations, students and all Ghanaians to join it to resist such austere policies.� Economic mess Organised Labour emphasized that with high interest rate of about 25 percent, which reflect the high cost of doing business in Ghana, the increasing cost of living, the unstable exchange rate, the poor sanitation in Ghana�s cities, and the incessant traffic jams on the country�s roads in the major cities, we wonder why the Minister still thinks Ghana remains a favourable investment destination. �We do not see any evidence of that. We would like to advise the Minister to stop the self-gratification, change the defensive posture he has adopted and get to serious business of managing the economy of Ghana. If, indeed, Ghana is a middle-income country, our policies must reflect that status.�