Railway Workers Union (RWU) has lamented delays in workers’ salaries which it claims sometimes runs into four months before payments are effected.
It also complained about the dwindling fortunes of Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL).
“Again, SSNIT payments are in arrears from October 2022 till date which has compelled SSNIT to take GRCL to court to enforce payments,”
General Secretary of RWU, Godwill Ntarmah, revealed at a news conference in Takoradi yesterday.
He added “Again, workers’ deductions to their various credit unions had not been paid since September 2002. The company is also owing GCB Bank millions of cedis while the workers’ tier 2 payments have also not been settled since May 2022 to date. The fate of retrenched staff of 2006 also needs to be addressed.”
On statutory issues, he argued “A limited liability company without shareholders is just a gimmick. All assets are vested in the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA). The company is for the state, but, we can’t run GRCL with this arrangement. It’s not easy.”
Mr Ntarmah told journalists that workers expected that since GRCL was state-owned, government should have provided supports as in the past, but, they had been told the company was a limited liability company and should generate enough to fund itself.
GRCL, a fully state-owned company with staff strength of over 1,000, he said, faced serious challenges operating the narrow gauge rail line which is in a very bad state, saying that old and aged rolling stock resulted in series of derailments.
He reported that leadership had made frantic efforts to engage the President on their plight but, these had proved futile, and, urged the media to publicise the matter to save GRCL from total collapse.
Mr Ntarmah said “we are frustrated and disillusioned. We believe through your medium the President will hear and give us audience. The above challenges have resulted in serious financial constraints which easily qualify the company as a Highly Indebted Poor Company (HIPC).”
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
