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Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations has announced the commencement of earnest negotiation of the base pay and the daily minimum wage for 2015 in Accra. He said the negotiations commenced on the 13th of January at the public services joint standing negotiating committee chaired by the Fair Wages and Salaries Committee. He said representatives from organized labour, Secretary General of the TUC, leadership of the Public Services Worker Unions among others, were present to participate in the negotiations. Mr Iddrisu indicated that it was necessary to keep the public informed about new projects and developments that were put in place after every discussion and consultation as part of the public accountability process. He said it was the expectation of government to conclude negotiations much earlier than had happened in previous years in order to get the Controller and Accountant General to facilitate payment of the determined base pay and daily minimum wage. �I believe it is important for both partners, government and labour, to appreciate legitimate concerns and needs of organized labour and their demands against constraints and capacity of the budget to contain whatever they may be demanding�, he stated. Mr Iddrisu said that was why globally, the ability to pay was always a function of the negotiation process. He indicated that it was necessary to recognise the contribution of labour to enhance productivity, significant contribution into gross domestic product, and mindful of inflationary trends in the country. �It is the determination of government to work with labour to contain the wage bill. As a Ministry, our determination remains on the fact that improved and better economic fortunes will be better shared by both government and labour�, he added.