Retrenchment of railway workers not right - MP

Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, has opposed retrenchment of 1,860 staff from Ghana Railway Company’s total 2,300 work-forces.

He noted that a report on labour rationalisation exercises recommends that an amount of over GH¢120 million needs to be provided to retrench these workers. Speaking to the B&FT in an interview, he said the amount of money to be used for retrenchment can as well be used to expand railway infrastructure.

“The railway is a key enabler that has over the years created and grown cities such as Sekondi and Essikadu, as well as brought life into towns around railway routes,” he said. He added that with the introduction of new wagons -- the company is now able to cut 90,000 tonnes of manganese from Nsuta to Takoradi using the same workforce.

“Clearly, the problem is not the workforce but the needed investment that will make the railway grow,” he said. The MP, who is also the Deputy Ranking Member for Roads and Transport, pointed out that commercial railways are profitable and would lead to industrialisation of the north as well as bridge the gap between the north-south and boost the country’s economy.

He added that revamping the railway lines would also enable Ghana’s dream of an integrated aluminum industry to be realised, which would create more job opportunities for the youth.

“I oppose the search for over GH¢120 million to retrench workers instead of investing into the railways, which would create jobs for the future generations,” he said. Mr. Darko-Mensah said Government should start rehabilitation of the railway sector -- at least with the 90 million euro earmarked from the 750 million Eurobond during the Kufour Administration.

Under railway labour rationalisation, Government continues to pay salaries of staff because the current state of the railway system is unproductive and does not meet their operational cost.

Besides, the company is overstretched and under-utilised and the strategy is to resize the labour force -- and this will involve rationalization of the workers. With the present status-quo, a provision of over GH¢15million is required for the payment of salaries for the 2013 budget year.

On the other hand, a report on labour rationalization exercises recommends that an amount of over GH¢120 million needs to be provided to retrench 1,860 staff out of a total 2,300.