Nurses Were Better Off Under NPP

The Head of Research of the Danquah Institute, Nana Attobrah, Quaicoe has remarked that the Government of Ghana in the last two years gave the biggest salary increments in real terms to public sector workers like never before in the nation's history. "In real terms salaries went up by 40 percent from 2006 to 2008. That is remarkable by any standard. Indeed, the figures reveal that from 2003 to 2008 teachers and others in the education sector saw their pay going up by 10 per cent every year in real terms. This means for every one of those years even after discounting increases in prices of consumer goods and services, the Ghanaian public sector worker had 60 percent more money to spend in actual terms." Nana Attobrah says the situation was even far better for health workers. A World Bank report, Nana Attobrah says, shows that those in the public sector saw their pay going up more than 25 percent higher than their counterparts in the private sector, especially with unionised staff. "What the figures show is that the World Bank admits that Ghanaian workers were generally better off under the NPP and must brace themselves for tougher times in the next two years. The fiscal deficit has to be reduced, by all means. But, should it be at the expense of teachers, nurses and police officers, who are already struggling to make ends meet with their take-home pay?" the DI research analyst asked.