Estimating public and private sectors' union wage effects in Ghana: is there a disparity?

PurposeThis study seeks to estimate union wage effect in the public and private sectors of Ghana, respectively. It also seeks to ascertain whether the union wage effect in the two sectors varies.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey 6 (GLSS 6, 2012/2013) and Ghana Labour Force Survey (GLFS, 2015). In terms of estimation technique, the authors employ the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition technique to estimate union wage effect in public and private sectors, respectively.FindingsThe findings indicate that union wage effect in the public sector is positive and higher relative to that of the private sector.Practical implicationsThe findings imply that strict enforcement of Section 82 of Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) will curb the political influence of public sector unions over their employer (Government).Originality/valueThis research paper has not been presented to any journal for publication and it is the authors' original work.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0045