The government and unions of Ghana said in a joint statement that they agreed on Thursday, January 12, 2023, to a 30% increase in the salaries of all civil servants by 2023. The country striving to reduce its debt and fight against rampant inflation.

The unions, representing public service employees, began negotiating the wage increase with the government in November 2022. A few months after the difficulties started, street protests prompted the government to ask for help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The two sides agreed on Thursday to increase the base salary in all sectors by 30%, effective January 1, 2023. For example, the government announced deep spending cuts in March, including a cut in ministerial salaries. This is in order to reduce the deficit, contain inflation and slow the fall of the cedi. Noted that the country won a staff-level deal with the IMF for a three-year $3 billion support package in December, but it needs to restructure its debt to access funds.