On July 12, 2024, organized labour announced an indefinite nationwide strike which began on Monday, July 15, 2024 and lasted for a day.
The industrial action was in protest of the proposed sale of 60 per cent shares in some hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to Rock City Hotel, which belongs to Minister of Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong.
The strike threatened to shut down crucial and essential services across the nation as organised labour includes doctors and other health workers, teachers, civil and local government workers, judicial service workers, and others.
In a dramatic turn of events, the prospective investor, Rock City Hotel, officially withdrew its proposal to buy a stake in the four hotels a few hours after the strike announcement.
Following the withdrawal of the bid, SSNIT also announced that it had terminated the intended sale of its stake in the hotels.
This prompted organised labour to call off the strike and requested all workers to resume work effective Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Although the nation was saved from the dire consequences of this industrial action, others, over the first half of the year did not spare Ghanaians.
There have been several major nationwide strikes since the beginning of the year that disrupted the lives of regular Ghanaians.
Here, The Ghana Report takes a look at some of the strikes that rocked the nation across various sectors.
- CLOGSAG declares a nationwide strike
On July 3, 2024, the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) began a nationwide strike.
This affected various government and public offices across the country, leaving members of the public who had gone to the offices to transact business stranded.
A statement dated July 2, 2024, and signed by the Executive Secretary, Isaac Bampoe Addo, said the action was due to the non-implementation of the new salary structure by the government.
The association said it had withdrawn its services on several occasions in previous times to demand improved conditions of service.
However, each time, the government promised to meet their demands but failed.
The association called off its industrial action following a successful meeting with government representatives on July 12, 2024.
- CETAG strike
Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) declared an indefinite strike effective, Friday, June 14, 2024.
This was due to the government’s delay in implementing the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) Arbitral Award Orders and negotiated service conditions.
This strike aimed to compel the government to meet CETAG’s demands, has affected all 46 public colleges of education in Ghana.
The group has since refused to heed several calls to return to the classroom.
It will be recalled that the association declared an industrial strike on June 3, 2024, over similar concerns regarding the delay in payment of outstanding arrears owed to its members.
- MELPWU
The Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU) announced a nationwide strike, beginning June 17, 2024, over the government’s failure to address their concerns.
The strike notice followed unsuccessful negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Ministry of Finance on May 31, 2024, despite the National Labour Commission’s intervention.
The General Secretary of MELPWU, Dr Cephas Kofi Akortor, expressed frustration over the government’s delay in finalising their ongoing negotiations.
The leadership of MELPWU, in a statement directed to the National Labour Commission (NLC), FWSC, Ministries of Employment & Labour Relations, Health and Finance on June 3, 2024, announced that their services in public hospitals across the country would not be available from June 17, 2024.
This adversely affected health care delivery.
The union suspended the two-week strike on Monday, June 24, 2024.
This was after a meeting with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the National Labour Commission (NLC).
- NIA Staff
The Divisional Executive Council of the Public Service Workers’ Union (PSWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana, National Identification Authority (NIA) Division, declared an indefinite strike on Monday, June 10, 2024.
In a statement dated June 9, 2024, the group said the action was taken because the government had failed to provide better conditions of service for NIA staff.
It also cited several factors, including the government’s failure to address undue delays in the negotiation process and the inability to grant institution-specific allowances to NIA staff.
The strike, initially planned for March 2024, was deferred due to the intervention of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.
It was, however, called off on Thursday, June 13, 2024, following an agreement with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to meet with the NIA staff to determine how best to address their concerns.
- Fuel Tanker Drivers declare a sit-down strike
The Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union(GNPTDU) announced an indefinite strike on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, following the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) board’s failure to agree on a policy framework to enhance their salaries and other working conditions since November 2023.
However, after a meeting with all stakeholders, the tanker drivers issued a communique to call off the sit-down strike on May 24, 2024.
The communique stated that the framework for their remuneration had been adopted and the implementation of the framework was expected to commence by the end of June 2024.
- Jurors declare strike over allowances
On May 16, 2024, Jurors across the country declared an indefinite strike over outstanding allowances.
A statement released by the jurors said the non-payment of their allowances from July 2023 to May 2024 had made life unbearable for them.
According to the disgruntled personnel, they had been plunged into a point of no hope as the government had turned deaf ears to their pressing issues.
This halted several cases including some high-profile suits filed at the courts.
Cases such as the Joseph Boakye Danquah’s murder trial, the Gregory Afoko trial, and the Kasoa teen killers murder trial, among others, were adjourned due to the development.
This was not the first time jurors had declared an indefinite strike.
In November 2023, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo urged then-striking jurors to return to work as their concerns would soon be addressed.
- Teacher Unions declare an indefinite strike
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) embarked on a strike on March 20, 2024.
The unions declared the strike over what they claimed was the government’s negligence in addressing their conditions of service.
Their grievances included withheld teachers’ salaries, unilateral changes to timetables without consulting the unions, and delays in the distribution of laptops to teachers.
The groups, however, suspended the strike on April 2, 2024, after the NLC obtained an interim injunction to halt the industrial action, thereby facilitating the commencement of negotiations.
- TEWU Join Universities’ Senior Staff Strike
The Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) joined a strike declared by the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) in January 2024.
The Senior Staff Association of the Public Universities in Ghana and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff (FUSSAG) declared an indefinite nationwide strike on January 17, 2024, to demand better conditions of service and pension.
According to the associations, the government had failed to fulfil payments of their two-tier pension and overtime allowances for a long time.
The strike caused various public universities to suspend activities for extended periods.