The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned that it will mobilise workers nationwide to resist the new utility tariff adjustments if the government fails to improve the recently approved 9% salary increase for 2026.

This comes after the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) announced that electricity tariffs will rise by 9.86%, while water tariffs will go up by 15.92%, effective January 1, 2026 — a decision the union describes as harsh and unacceptable.

In a statement issued by Secretary-General Joshua Ansah on Wednesday, December 3, the TUC said the tariff increases cannot be allowed to stand unless government returns to the negotiation table to reassess the 9% wage adjustment for next year.

It warned: “Workers cannot accept these increases unless the government comes back to the negotiating table to top up the wage increase for 2026,” adding that any refusal by government “will compel the Congress to mobilise workers to resist the implementation of these insensitive increases.”

The union criticised the tariff adjustments as an unwelcome “New Year’s gift,” noting that the hikes come barely a week after the announcement of a modest rise in the national minimum wage and base pay.

According to the TUC, the increases will wipe out any benefit workers might gain from the 2026 salary adjustment, especially at a time when living costs continue to escalate.

It added that utility tariffs jumped by more than 18% in 2025, despite a 10% rise in wages that year.

Labeling the latest adjustments as evidence of the government’s “insensitivity” to the plight of workers and the broader population, the TUC insists that the 9% wage increment cannot match the economic burden imposed by the new tariffs.