Ghana Bauxite Company workers on rampage; burn vehicles

Angry workers of the Ghana Bauxite Mining Company at Awaso in the Western region have demonstrated over poor working conditions destroying properties in the process.

The workers, who went on rampage on Monday, June 17, 2019, torched various vehicles belonging to the company.

Aside destroying several company vehicles, the workers also destroyed some offices of the company.

This is not the first time workers of the Bauxite Mining Company had protested over conditions. In March this year, contract employees pledged to walk off the job unless and until working conditions were improve at the site.

They alleged that management at the plant is not paying into the country’s Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) as safety conditions continue to deteriorate at the site.

The workers claim that conditions have become progressively worse throughout the eight years the site has been in operation.

The company has had a turn-around in recent years, posting a profit of US$4,020,000 in 2015 and US$3,400,000 in 2017.

Ghana sits atop a vast cache of some of the highest-quality bauxite ore ever discovered. However, political and economic problems have long thwarted efforts by both local interests and overseas buyers to establish large-scale extraction operations.

Cultivating a strong integrated aluminium sector has been a goal of President Akufo-Addo since his inauguration two years ago, following up on promises of the same along the campaign trail.