The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is breathing down on government’s neck to intervene in the recently increased utility tariffs.

Electricity went up by 78.9 percent and water by 52 percent effective October 1, 2013.

But the TUC is calling on government and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to stay the implementation of the new utility tariffs.

The TUC argued that the increases in water and electricity tariffs do not commensurate with the 10 percent increase in salaries.

It said the burden on consumers is worsened by fuel prices which have gone up four times already this year.

The TUC is also accusing the PURC of doing government’s bidding by not applying the automatic adjustment formula which would have seen a rather gradual increase in tariffs.

TUC Secretary General Kofi Asamoah told Joy News on Tuesday that the increases are “just too high, everybody is crying”.

“We are really asking government to intervene,” he said.

He charged the utility providers to tackle their managerial  problems associated with their operations to stem their losses and not to rely on revenues from consumers to cover up their expenses.

He noted that the promise by the service providers to improve efficiency has never been met.

Mr Asamoah said the TUC has written formally to government and a letter was on its way to the PURC asking them to withhold the increment and also requesting for a stakeholders meeting to discuss the issue further.

But the PURC says their request is untenable.

PURC’s Director of Public Affairs Nana Yaa Jantuah told Joy News the tariffs have already been done after stakeholders consultations, and “once it is gazetted, it becomes law”.

“We can’t turn back”, she stressed, adding that all factors were considered before arriving at the new tariffs.

She was confident the new tariffs would assist the utility providers to get the required revenue to sustain their operations.

But Mr Asamoah said the TUC would resort to other avenues for the tariffs to be reduced.