The Trades Union Congress has criticised government and utility regulators after electricity and water tariffs were increased, saying the decision will wipe out the small wage adjustment promised workers for next year.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission on Wednesday announced that electricity tariffs will go up by almost 10% and water tariffs will rise by nearly 16% from 1 January 2026. The increase comes on the same day government will implement a 9%rise in the national minimum wage and base pay.
In a statement issued by Secretary General, Joshua Ansah, the TUC said workers were already disappointed that their 2026 wage increase was lower than the 10% given in 2025. The union said that after workers endured cumulative electricity price increases of more than 18% this year, the latest announcement feels like what it called a New Year gift that will only deepen people’s hardship.
According to the TUC, the new tariff levels effectively cancel out the 9% wage adjustment for 2026 and show what it described as government’s insensitivity to the daily struggles of ordinary Ghanaians. The union said the move amounts to robbing workers of the modest increase they had secured for the coming year.
The TUC said workers will not accept the tariff changes unless government returns to the negotiating table to improve the 2026 wage offer. It warned that anything short of that will lead to nationwide mobilisation to resist what it called an unfair and unbearable increase in utility prices.
Organised Labour will hold a press conference on Monday, 8 December 2025, to outline further actions it plans to take against the new tariffs. The union said it will use the event to present measures aimed at overturning the decision.