Ghana’s National Tripartite Committee has set the 2025 National Daily Minimum Wage at GH₵19.97 per day, a 10 percent increase over 2024, drawing mixed reactions from business and labour groups since taking effect on March 1.
The NTC, which brings together representatives from government, employers and organized labour, cited multiple factors in approving the adjustment including cost of living pressures, business sustainability needs, and the goal of increasing employment. Under Section 113(1)(a) of the Labour Act, 2003, the NTC reviews the minimum wage annually.
The adjusted wage will increase the payroll baseline for many businesses, particularly in labour intensive sectors such as retail, hospitality, services and light manufacturing. A cost analyst at an Accra based business advisory firm noted that a 10 percent rise in the minimum wage is manageable for well capitalized firms, but for small and micro enterprises already operating on tight margins the impact will be more acute.
From the labour side, the increase is welcomed but seen as only a partial response to rising living costs. At a June 2025 roundtable event, the Ghana Trades Union Congress argued that the minimum wage remains inadequate for family support and called for a move to a living wage model.
Deputy Secretary General Dr. Kwabena Nyarko Otoo stated that minimum wage currently focuses on the worker and not on his or her dependents. Labour’s call includes a demand for a new formula that links minimum wage increases to inflation, productivity and cost of living metrics rather than a fixed percentage each year.
The timing of the wage adjustment coincides with Ghana’s broader macro economic recovery efforts. With inflation showing signs of moderating, the 2025 budget incorporated proposals to adjust the personal income tax free threshold in line with the wage rise. However, higher wage floors also raise questions about fiscal sustainability, especially where public sector salaries and welfare obligations rise.
Enforcement remains key to the policy’s success. A 2017 paper by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung noted that large swathes of workers in Ghana received wages below the official minimum and that enforcement institutions lacked capacity. For a worker earning the new minimum wage of GH₵19.97 per day, assuming a 27 day month, that equates to roughly GH₵539.19 monthly before allowances, overtime or bonuses.
