Flights disrupted as KIA workers strike in protest against MD over alleged mismanagement

All departures at the Kotoko International Airport (KIA) are expected to be disrupted this morning following a call for an indefinite withdrawal of services of all general staff at the airport.

The call was made by the Divisional Union of the Public Services Workers Union at the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL).

According to the Union, the withdrawal of their services which begins with mandatory screening services, flight display and announcements, has been necessitated by alleged attempts by the Board of the company to shelve a report which confirms allegations of mismanagement and abuse of office levelled against the Managing Director, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa.

The Divisional Chairman of the PSWU at the Airport Company Limited Abdul-Issaka Bamba added that as an effect of the strike, “all the gates leading to the restricted area will be shut, so nobody can access the restricted area.”

“Customer service in the terminal will be closed. There won't be any customer service,” he added in a Citi News interview.

Fire and safety cover for all aircraft, water supply and sewage treatment will also be affected by the strike.

Mr. Bamba said the future of the company was being risked by maintaining Mr. Kwakwa.

“Our expectation is that the Managing Director must be removed. If we allow this man to continue sitting in office, the fortunes of this company can only dwindle and the staff will not be ready for that.”

“If he is not removed we are not backing down. We will continue increasing our levels of withdrawal of service until we get what we want,” Mr. Bamaba stressed.

The union has previously agitated over this same issue and also petitioned President Akufo-Addo on the matter.

In the petition, the workers said Mr. Kwakwa had demonstrated “gross incompetence, insensitivity and lack of understanding of the critical aviation industry and therefore his continuous stay in office will further derail the progress of the company”.

They accused Mr. Kwakwa of deliberately refusing to implement several reports lying on his desk for over two years and outsourcing key aspects of the company's operations at exorbitant costs despite the availability of in-house capacity.

---citinewsroom