Railway workers go back to work

Workers of the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL)resumed work yesterday after more than six weeks of an industrial action to press home demands for better conditions of service.

Some of the workers told the Daily Graphic in Accra that they would begin full operations on Monday as they inspected some of the rail tracks on the various routes to ensure that proper maintenance works had been conducted on the trucks and railway lines and other facilities that were not in use during the strike period.

The Chief Director of the Ministry of Harbours and Railways, Mr Isaac Dodd, said railway workers in Takoradi were also doing maintenance works on the rail lines to ensure their worthiness before full
operations on Monday.

“We are still monitoring the situation on the ground but I can assure you that the railway workers have resumed work and there is no cause for alarm,” he said.

He said the Interim Chairman of the Railway Workers Union, Mr Joseph K.T. Dadzie, had assigned some of his colleagues to the various routes to fix rails that were defective.

Mr Dodd, who expressed his appreciation for the decision by the workers to call off their strike,urged them to discharge their duties in the supreme interest of the nation.

Meanwhile, residents of Achimota and its environs have expressed their joy at the decision of the railway workers to resume work.

Residents of the area who patronise the services of coaches plying the Accra Central-Nsawam route said they suffered a lot when the workers embarked on the industrial action.

“Now that they have called off the strike, we will be able to go to Accra on train. Using the road to Accra is not the best,” one of the residents told the Daily Graphic.

The decision of the railway workers to return to work followed a meeting attended by the Interim Management Committee of the Railway Workers Union of the company, the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, the Ministry of Harbours and Railways, the Trades Union
Congress (TUC) and the National Labour Commission (NLC) in Accra last Tuesday.

Held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea, the stakeholders issued a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which formed the basis for the resumption of
work.

The Deputy Minister of Harbours and Railways, Mrs Sophia Horner-Sam, told the press that as part of the government's commitment to revamp the railway sector, $90 million had been allocated for the rehabilitation of the western line.