Railway workers across Ghana have embarked on an indefinite sit-down strike, effective Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in protest over seven months of unpaid salaries and worsening working conditions.
The industrial action, led by the Railway Workers’ Union, has brought operations under the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) to a complete halt.
The strike was confirmed following demonstrations in Accra on Monday, where workers, clad in red attire, carried placards bearing messages such as: “We have not been paid for seven months,” “Where are our salaries?”, and “Railway sector needs investment now.”
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, the Accra branch General Secretary of the Railway Workers’ Union, Franklin Leo Cobbinah, described the situation as dire and unprecedented.
He added that workers are frustrated by repeated unfulfilled promises from management, and the strike will only be called off when a concrete solution is presented.
The union is demanding immediate payment of outstanding salaries, salary adjustments, and urgent investment into the railway sector, which they say has been neglected for years.
He said, “Well, the train is still at Tema, we didn’t run the trade this morning. We told those working in the train to announce to them that what is happening within our company, we are not going to run the train this morning. We have worked from October up to date that seven months, almost eight months without salary. And we are not getting any better from that time, convincing us to continue working. So, the only thing to do is to stop the train and then look forward for what the management will be telling us.”
“Well, almost every day when we asked for the salary, they were telling us we should wait until we come in. The previous government is gone, we haven’t got a new minister, but we waited. A new minister was appointed, vetted, confirmed by Parliament as a substantive transport minister. And then, our headcount has also been down. And so, we are not seeing the way forward. But for this seven months, we haven’t seen it in my 25 years in service.”
