Can You Live on Minimum Wage in Ghana?

By Nomako

Tema, Ghana — At 6:00 a.m., John Tetteh is already walking the dusty road to the construction site where he mixes concrete six days a week. His daily pay? ₵14.88 — Ghana’s official minimum wage as of 2024.

“That’s if the contractor doesn’t ‘forget’ to pay me,” he adds dryly, adjusting the second-hand boots he bought from Kantamanto market for ₵35.

John is part of a silent majority of Ghanaians living on or below the minimum wage. As prices continue to rise, the question looms large: can anyone truly survive on such a figure in today’s Ghana?

Understanding the Minimum Wage

Ghana’s daily minimum wage is set by the National Tripartite Committee, which includes government, labour unions, and employers. In 2024, it was increased to ₵14.88 per day — translating to just under ₵450 a month for a six-day workweek.

But the numbers, many argue, are detached from economic realities.

“The wage is symbolic,” says Dr. Gloria Opoku, a labour economist at the University of Cape Coast. “It hasn’t kept pace with inflation, utilities, rent, or even food. Most people earning it are living below the poverty line.”

A Budget Breakdown

To understand life on minimum wage, we tracked the expenses of three workers over 30 days:

1. John Tetteh, Construction Laborer – Tema

Rent (shared room): ₵150
Utilities: ₵50
Food: ₵300
Transportation: ₵80
Miscellaneous: ₵70
Total: ₵650

He earns approximately ₵450 monthly. “Every month, I am in minus ₵200,” he says. “Sometimes I borrow, sometimes I go hungry.”

2. Ama Serwaa, Market Seller’s Assistant – Kumasi
Ama earns ₵13/day. She sleeps in a kiosk owned by her aunt and sends ₵50 monthly back to her mother in the village. “Without my aunt, I’d be sleeping outside.”

3. Kweku Amissah, Night Security Guard – Takoradi
Earning ₵480/month, Kweku works 12-hour shifts and moonlights as a cleaner twice a week. “I work seven days a week,” he says, “just to afford powdered milk for my child.”

Living or Surviving?

Most minimum wage earners interviewed describe a life of constant trade-offs: skip lunch to buy medicine, ignore toothaches to pay school fees, reuse cooking oil to stretch a cedi.

“My kids don’t ask for biscuits anymore,” says Kweku. “They know Baba doesn’t have money.”

A Gendered Burden

For women, particularly single mothers, minimum wage life can be doubly difficult.

Esi Dufie, a cleaner in Accra, wakes at 4 a.m., finishes work at 9 a.m., and then sells fried yam until 8 p.m.

“I don’t see my children except Sundays,” she says. “But what can I do? Their father left. The government doesn’t feed us.”

Government Response and Challenges

The Ministry of Employment insists it is working on improving labour conditions, pointing to new labour inspection guidelines and occasional public-sector salary increases.

But critics say the state itself pays many workers below living standards — especially in contracted or casual positions.

“It’s hypocrisy,” says labour advocate Kofi Arhin. “Government contractors use third-party firms that pay peanuts and avoid benefits.”

Trade Unions Speak Out

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has been vocal about raising the minimum wage to reflect the real cost of living. “We propose a ₵25 daily minimum,” said a TUC spokesperson. “We also demand enforcement. Many employers don’t even pay the current rate.”

Coping Mechanisms

With wages failing, families are getting creative:

Meal skipping: Some workers eat only once a day.
Pooling resources: Up to five adults may share a single room and combine income.
Extra side jobs: From selling sachet water to running errands after work.

But these strategies are exhausting and unsustainable. “You’re alive, but you’re not living,” says John.

Hope in Informal Support

Extended families, churches, and community savings groups (susu) often step in. “If not for my susu group, I’d be homeless,” says Esi. “We save ₵5 a day and help each other during hard times.”

Still, these supports are patchwork — not policy.

A Need for Policy Rethink

Experts suggest several solutions:

Introduce a national living wage, not just a minimum wage.
Subsidize rent and transport for low-income earners.
Clamp down on wage theft by unregistered employers.
Invest in skill-building to move workers into higher-paying jobs.

“Wage reform is not charity — it’s economic sense,” argues Dr. Opoku. “When workers earn more, they spend more, and the economy grows.”

The Human Cost of Low Wages

Back on the job site, John mixes cement under the sweltering sun. He has never been on vacation. He’s never saved more than ₵100. He doesn’t own a bank account.

Asked about his dreams, he pauses. “I just want my children to eat well and finish school,” he says. “That’s all.”

In Ghana today, minimum wage isn’t a safety net — it’s a tightrope. And many are walking it barefoot.