Passengers of STC stranded as workers demonstrate

Passengers of Intercity State Transport Company in Accra have been stranded all Wednesday morning, as workers demonstrated to protest poor conditions of service.

Wearing red arm bands, they burned tires and chanted war songs to drum home their concerns. The workers are protesting non-increment of salaries over the last ten years, and management’s refusal to release their provident fund to them.

STC is a government-owned transport service to 23 local destinations as well as Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Benin.

A driver explained "somebody who had been contracted as a consultant took one percent of their[ provident fund]... a senior driver's pay is GHC 300, after deduction you go home with a scanty pay...the MD is taking ghc 7,500"

Another added, "for four years now we have people calling themselves board members...what are they boarding in STC here, if you are a board member and for four years you cannot bring a single bus into this company, [then] what are you doing, I still don't see why they have not been dissolved", an angry driver said.

They tell Joy news’ Joseph Gakpo, no bus would leave the premises until their grievances are resolved.

The workers are also asking government and majority shareholder of STC, SSNIT, to dismiss the management especially the Managing Director, General Finance Manager and Human Resource Manager and dissolve the company’s board. "The kitchen is too hot for them, they should go" an employee screamed out.

Meanwhile, some stranded passengers at the company’s premises have been expressing their frustration to Joy news. A passenger said."People going to Abijan and Tamale, Navarongo are all stranded, so they have to arrange for a refund of our monies".

The Intercity STC has been debilitating stress since 1997 when it was first divested under the Divestiture Implementation Programme (DIP).

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) currently owns 80 per cent stake in the company, with the government controlling the remaining 20 per cent.