Railway Workers’ Union bent on seeing railway sector revamped

• Posted on January 31, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

The Railway Workers Union has given assurance it will work to ensure the rail sector is revamped to help commuters

The leadership of the union told Citi Business News they are ready to put behind all unresolved issues between them and government to sustain operations of the rail sector.

Operations along the Accra-Tema Railway Line, was halted for maintenance works following an accident at Tesano in October 2017 which caused severe injuries to some residents along the line and persons onboard the train.

A committee was setup by the then Deputy Railway Minister, Kwaku Agyeinim Boateng to investigate the cause of the accident.

The committee after completing its investigations issued a report recommending services to be suspended for a complete refurbishment of the rail line and maintenance work on the coaches.

Activities resumed, with the train embarking on its first test run on Tuesday, January 30.

The railway workers union is an important stakeholder in the railway sector.

The union has in the past been at logger heads with government.

One major issue that has caused the disagreement between the union and government was issue of salary.

In an interview with Citi Business News, General Secretary of the Ghana Railway Workers Union, Godwill Ntarmah said they are dedicated to ensure a smooth and safe running of the industry.

“All the rehabilitation was done by the railway workers. The railway workers are too committed to ensure that we bring effective roads in all these rehabilitation and revamping exercise. Workers are ready to work. All that we are urging is that these plans come into fruition for us to play our effective role so we are ready to partner the Ministry, partner government and whichever stake holders so that we move this nation forward as far as the rail sector is concerned”, he said.

The railway sector is an important aspect of the country’s transport system.

This is because it is relatively cheaper and faster compared to road transport.