Workers of the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) returned to the Ministry of Transport in Accra on Wednesday, March 25, picketing for the second time in less than a week after government failed to honour a self-imposed deadline to begin paying 13 months of outstanding salary arrears.
General Secretary of the Ghana Railway Workers Union (GRWU), Benjamin Essuman, accused government of deliberate inaction, saying workers had sat through repeated engagements with the Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari Nukpe, without a single cedi being disbursed. “You sat down with railway workers and promised action, but till date nothing has been done,” he said.
The return protest comes after the GRWU first marched on the ministry on March 19, when officials assured workers that a response from the Ministry of Finance would arrive within a week and that payment timelines would be firmed up. The Chief Director at the Ministry of Transport, William Kartey, had told demonstrating workers: “The process has begun and the process will work till the end. We do believe that by the end of next week, we do believe we will receive some kind of response from the Ministry of Finance.” That deadline expired with no payment made and no public update issued.
Central to the workers’ frustration is the fate of GH¢20.6 million raised from the sale of obsolete railway materials. The funds were earmarked specifically to clear approximately 10 months of the arrears following a directive from President John Mahama in October 2024, but workers say the money has not reached them. “Money was raised and we were told it would be paid, but now we hear it has gone into the consolidated fund. Meanwhile, workers are still suffering,” one protester said.
Mr. Essuman also confirmed that three workers have died during the extended period of non-payment, and that the ongoing crisis has taken a severe toll on the families of all 853 workers employed by GRCL.
The March 25 protest is the latest episode in a running industrial dispute that stretches back to a strike in May 2025 over seven months of unpaid wages, followed by a fresh warning in September 2025 when arrears reached 12 months. A GH¢10 million release in December 2025 cleared four months of the backlog, but left the bulk of the debt unresolved.
The GRWU has not yet issued a formal strike notice but warned that the patience of members is running out. With government yet to provide a concrete payment date, the union said further action cannot be ruled out if officials fail to act before the end of this week.
