Wage decrees and court reversals reshape public sector pay from Bogotá to Nairobi
Colombia’s minimum wage hike stands after a court U-turn, Argentina locks in a retroactive raise, and Ghana and Kenya navigate allowance payments and reform talks.
Colombia’s Council of State lifted its suspension of the decree that raised the minimum wage by 23 percent for 2026, allowing the new floor of two million pesos including transport allowance to remain in force while the tribunal examines the decree’s legality. The reversal followed a government plea and the court’s finding that the original suspension had not demonstrated concrete harm from applying the increase. A second decree, issued with the consent of business and labour representatives, effectively unblocked the standoff, leaving workers unaffected for now.
In Argentina, the government formalised a 7 percent salary increase for all 1.2 million federal public employees, retroactive to January 2025 and paid in November payrolls. The adjustment, tied to consumer price inflation and union agreements, also raised viáticos, bonuses and allowances. The accord set a pre-agreed formula for 2026: the 2025 inflation rate plus 1.9 percentage points, a mechanism designed to reduce annual bargaining friction and provide predictability for state workers.
Across Africa, Ghana’s Teacher Trainees’ Association confirmed that allowance disbursements to colleges of education have begun in batches, with fully validated institutions receiving payments first. The government, education ministry and loans trust were commended for the rollout. Simultaneously, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission appealed to the main teachers’ union, GNAT, to suspend a threatened strike over conditions of service, arguing that a sweeping reform to create an Independent Emoluments Commission will address long-standing pay distortions, inequities and overlapping allowances. A national stakeholder engagement on the new commission is scheduled for early August.
In Kenya, the Teachers Service Commission disowned a fake circular circulating on social media that claimed the second phase of a 2021–2025 collective bargaining agreement salary rise would be implemented in July 2026 with arrears in August. The TSC labelled the document “fake” and warned teachers not to rely on it, highlighting the information vulnerabilities that accompany protracted public-sector pay negotiations.
| Sub-Saharan African press | +0.10 | neutral |
|---|---|---|
| Latin American press | 0.00 | neutral |
Ghana pays trainee allowances and Kenya dismisses fake salary news, but teachers still threaten strikes – we report both sides without taking a side, letting the facts speak for themselves.
By juxtaposing positive disbursement news with strike threats and fake notices, the bloc creates an impression of balanced, objective reporting that implicitly validates the government's efforts while acknowledging unresolved grievances.
The bloc omits any reference to legal frameworks or judicial processes that in other Global South states, like Colombia, regulate salary increases through court rulings and decrees, which would challenge the narrative of ad hoc, tension-driven progress.
Colombia's State Council allows the minimum wage increase to stand while reviewing its legality, and the government decrees a 7% raise for public employees – the law and the executive act in tandem to deliver orderly salary adjustments.
By foregrounding judicial rulings and official decrees, the bloc frames salary increases as the outcome of legitimate, rule-bound procedures, lending an aura of inevitability and technical correctness to the government's decisions.
The bloc omits any mention of union tensions or implementation difficulties that appear in other Global South contexts, such as the strike threats and fake notices reported in Ghana and Kenya, which would undermine the image of smooth, top-down salary management.
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