Godwill Ntamah, General Secretary, Ghana Railway Company
WORKERS OF the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) have called on President Akufo-Addo to honour his promise of improving the conditions of railway workers after pension.
According to the workers, they are ready to work with the government to realise its dream for the railway company and the railway sector.
Godwill Ntamah, General Secretary of the Railway Workers Union, who disclosed this at the National Executive Council meeting of the union held at Essikado in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis Friday,
emphasised, “The President, in response to concerns raised on the conditions of railway workers after pension, did indicate that the deplorable pension life of the workers was as a result of the very low level of salaries.”
He continued, “The President said he was going to address it. Regrettably, the situation has not changed but getting worse and we plead that the issue should be addressed.”
The meeting presented the opportunity for the workers to collectively discuss, plan and deliberate on critical issues concerning the GRCL.
Mr. Ntamah also called for the review of the Railway Act, Act 779 which has been in existence for more than 10 years and needed a review.
According to him, the Act was put in place to regulate the railway sector when plans were in place to revamp the sector and therefore, there was the need for an agency to take care of the assets and liabilities of the company.
The Minister for Railway Development, Peter Amewu, in an address read on his behalf, noted that the construction of the Western rail line has progressed significantly.
He said, the line, which consists of the 22-kilometer standard gauge from Kojokrom to Manso with funding from the Ghana Government, is about 75 per cent complete and expected to be fully completed before the end of this year.
He said the development of the new standard gauge Western rail line is expected to continue this year from Manso to Huni Valley under a €500 credit facility secured by government.
For his part, the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Railway Company, Lord Laud Quansah, emphasised that the current government is desirous of revamping the entire railway sector and has put in place the necessary measures to achieve this dream.
He said the management of the GRCL has adopted a more open and ready to learn approach by which ideas and solutions are put together for discussions to ensure a harmonious working environment.
FROM Emmanuel Opoku, Essikado