Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, has accused the Akufo-Addo administration of burdening the new government with thousands of newly recruited but unpaid public sector workers before leaving office.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on October 7, the Wa Central MP revealed that the Mahama-led government inherited over 12,000 newly engaged workers without any financial provisions or clearance to pay their salaries.
“This tells the story of the complaints we had when we assumed office,” he said.
“At the point of exit, the NPP government imposed on us 12,000 new workers they had no budget to pay. The three month transitional budget they were required to prepare didn’t make any provision for these recruits. So, we came into office unprepared to pay them.
“All these newly employed workers had no adequate clearance, yet they were handed over to us before the government exited,” he added.
His remarks follow growing discontent among unpaid nurses and midwives, many of whom recently staged a protest in Accra over salary arrears.
The Coalition of Unpaid Nurses and Midwives claims nearly 7,000 of its members have been working for close to 10 months without pay. While about 6,500 have since been paid after receiving financial clearance in December 2024, thousands remain unpaid.
Dr. Pelpuo attributed the situation to political motives rather than genuine workforce planning.
“It shows that there was no real preparation,” he explained. “They were focused on contesting elections. Recruiting thousands of unemployed young people was aimed at winning their support, not because they were ready to pay them.”
Asked if he believed the move was politically driven, he responded: “That’s the assumption it was a political decision to give young people the impression they were employed, not necessarily to provide them salaries.”
He further drew parallels to a previous situation.
“Remember when President J.A. Kufuor was leaving office, he introduced the Single Spine Salary Structure, which President Atta Mills had to grapple with. It seems to be their pattern leaving incoming governments with difficult challenges,” he noted.
Describing the act as politically reckless and unfair to young workers, Dr. Pelpuo said: “It’s not the right thing to do. Once your time as a government is over, you should leave. You cannot recreate a future that the electorate has already rejected.”
Despite the challenges, the Minister assured that the current government is committed to resolving the issue.
“We are not just complaining; we’re working towards resolving the problem of unpaid workers. We know how important it is for young people to start life on a stable footing, and we’re determined to address this, hopefully before the end of the year,” he said.
