Railway workers across Ghana have declared an indefinite strike over seven months of unpaid salaries and deteriorating working conditions.
Speaking on behalf of the Railway Workers’ Union on Citi Eyewitness News on Monday, May 12, General Secretary Benjamin Essuman described the situation as “pathetic and unacceptable,” revealing that close to 960 workers across the country have gone without salaries for nearly eight months.
According to him, the 960 includes workers in the Western Region, Ashanti Region, Greater Accra and other sites. “Right after the election, the new minister came to office, and we engaged him as a union, but it’s been promise upon promise up till now,” Mr. Essuman said.
On Monday morning, the workers took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the government in red attires with placards in their hands, some of which read “We have not been paid for seven months”, ” We have not had increment for three years,” among others.
Speaking to reporters, General Secretary of the Railway Workers Union, Accra branch, Franklin Cobbinah, said, “For seven months, we have not been paid, and we have not heard anything tangible from our management. So we are giving them till the close of today.”
He added that the workers will go to work, but will not undertake any activity, and that the morning train that runs from Tema to Accra, those in Tarkwa, Tema, Takoradi, and Kumasi, will be stopped.
