The Coalition of Commercial Transport Operators in Koforidua suspended their intended strike action Monday morning .
Drivers of Commercial vehicles were busily loading passengers at various lorry terminals visited by Starr News Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah .
Some of the driver told Starr News they were waiting for directives from their union leaders.
The drivers say even though they are working, their colleagues who attempted to transport passengers to Accra were unable to enter the national capital due to the enforcement of the strike.
But according to the Eastern Regional Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) Johnson Kyereh the national leadership of the union directed them to suspend the strike action as Chief of Staff has invited their them for further engagement.
The Coalition of Commercial Transport Operators commenced a sit-down strike on Monday 6th December 2021 across the country.
The Coalition in a statement directed the leadership of all its affiliates to close their stations and advise all drivers and car owners to fully comply with the directive.
They also cautioned all members that there will be severe administrative consequences for any member who is found to be in breach of this announcement.
According to the Coalition, their action is borne out of a number of demands they are expecting the government to offer them in the 2022 Budget.
“That we are calling on the government to, as a matter of national emergency, to totally scrap the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy, the Special Petroleum Tax, Energy Sector Levy, Energy Debt Recovery Levy and the Sanitation and Pollution Levy from the pump price of petroleum products before the midnight of Sunday the 5th December 2021.
“That in the unfortunate failure of the government to fulfil the demands of the Coalition, as stated in paragraph 3, above, the Coalition will have no other option but to commence our sit-down strike action across the country effective Monday the 6th December 2021,” the Coalition statement.
The Coalition is a body representing commercial passenger and cargo transporters as well as online taxi service operators and commercial motor cycle operators popularly referred to as “Okada”.
According to the Coalition, the decision to embark on the strike was arrived at during a meeting of the Coalition, held in the Ghana Trades Union Congress Building in Accra, on Monday the 22nd November, 2021.
“That in protest against the deafening silence of the government in the 2022 budget statement on the removal of the five (5) specific nuisance levies and taxes that we listed in our press conference on the 9th November, 2021 at the Neoplan Station in Accra. We have resolved to take actions that will protect our livelihoods and also alleviate the suffering of the travelling masses.
“That all commercial passenger and cargo vehicles shall display red bands on their vehicles with effect from tomorrow Tuesday 23rd November, 2021 as a signal to the government regarding our impending sit-down strike action,” they added.
Source : Ghana/Starrfm..com.gh/Kojo Ansah ,
