Petroleum Tanker Drivers call off strike
30th June 2023
Petroleum tanker drivers in the Republic of Ghana have called off their sit-down strike and resumed work today, Friday, June 30, 2023, energynewsafrica.com.can report.
This follows a meeting with the Roads and Highway Minister, Kwesi Amoako-Attah, and Minister for Transport, Kwesi Ofori Asiamah, in Tema on Thursday.
The bulk vehicle drivers declared a sit-down strike on Monday to protest the deplorable state of roads that link fuel depots in Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi and Buipe.
The drivers, under the aegis of the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Union, accused the Roads and Highway Minister of neglecting his duty to ensure that the area, which generates substantial amounts of revenue for the state, had an improved road network.
Speaking to energnewsafrica.com, the Vice Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Union, Sunday Alabi said the contractor who was working on the road but left returned to the site on Monday and had since been working to level the road to make it accessible.
He said the Minister indicated that the road was part of the concrete roads the Akufo-Addo administration was executing in the country and, therefore, the contractor would just level it and make it accessible while they take their time to work to complete it.
A joint committee comprising seven members—three from the Ministry of Roads and Highways and four from the union—has been set up to monitor the progress of works in Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi and Buipe.
The Roads and Highway Minister, Amoako-Attah assured the drivers that either he or his Deputy would be at the site once a week to inspect the progress of work on the road.
Giving those words, he said, “Please do the work as is required of you.
“The country belongs to all of us. There is a problem and it must be resolved. So, we need to be patient and address it the right way. So let us work together.”