GRC Condemn Threats On United Rail Officials

Workers unions within the Ghana Railway Company (GRC) have condemned threats by a group in London to assassinate top officials of United Rail Limited if it accepts to revamp the operations of the company, describing it as a calculated attempt to stifle investments in Ghana.

A press statement, issued in Takoradi last Friday, in reaction to media reports of the alleged threat by Ghana and Overseas Railway Engineers, said the plot was lawless and criminal.

Mr Samuel Kokovena, general secretary of the Railway Workers Union, Mr Charles Leeward, national chairman of the Railway Enginemen's Union and Mr Samuel A. Haizel, vice-president of the Association of Railway Senior Officers, signed the statement.

Workers, the statement said, were aware of the Government's determination to transfer public assets to private businesses for capital injection, saying the GRC was no exception.

It said efforts to restructure the operations of the GRC to enable it to play “its proper role in the national economy” was on-going and workers could not predict the outcome but hope for the best.

The statement said workers expected the implementation of the restructuring exercise and the staff rationalisation programme to be humane and acceptable to all social partners. Notwithstanding the financial predicaments of GRC, the statement said workers continued to maintain their loyalty, support and determination to fight for the survival of the company, “no matter the price and cost.”

It said the reforms within the GRC, the revival of the dying company, and therefore, “we wish to register our total condemnation of the threats by the so-called railway engineers, and pledge the support of the entire workforce for the concession programme.”