The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Ransford Gyampo, says the Authority will meet the leadership of the Joint Association of Port Transport Drivers (JAPTU) on Monday, April 13, at 12pm to address growing concerns raised by the group.

The meeting comes amid rising tensions between the Authority and JAPTU members, who have threatened a sit-down strike from April 14 to April 17 over what they describe as burdensome regulatory policies introduced by the Shippers’ Authority.

According to the drivers’ association, the policies could negatively affect their operations and livelihoods if not reviewed.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, April 13, Mr. Gyampo reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to maintaining a cooperative and efficient port environment while engaging all stakeholders.

He stressed that the Ghana Shippers’ Authority has no intention of ignoring the concerns of port transport operators, but rather seeks to work with them to find lasting solutions.

“We are supposed to be championing their concerns. How do you fight for somebody that you don’t know? That is why in the wisdom of the framers of the Shippers’ Act, to be able to be effective in regulating and controlling their activities, you need to officially know them in the book by registering them.

“Their leadership noted that they had already registered their members and that our attempt to re-register them would be a duplication, and so we agreed to discuss and resolve their concerns in line with the law and so it was surprising when we saw that they wanted to strike.

“Yesterday [Sunday, April 12], I had a telephone discussion with their leadership and they agreed that we meet them at 12pm this afternoon to look at their concerns to see how we can address them,” he explained.

The planned engagement is expected to help avert the threatened industrial action and ease tensions between both parties.