The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has issued a strong warning to the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA), threatening to resist the planned resumption of train services on the Tema-Mpakadan corridor if outstanding labour issues are not resolved.

The warning comes in direct response to an announcement by the Chief Executive Officer of the GRDA, Dr Frederick Appoh, on Wednesday, that passenger services would resume on October 1, 2025.

Dr Appoh stated that initial challenges, including infrastructure defects and land encroachment, have been resolved.

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However, the Secretary-General of the TUC, Joshua Ansah, speaking at a press conference in Accra the same day, highlighted a critical unresolved issue: workers of the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) have not been paid for 12 months.

“This press conference is about Ghana Railway Company Limited, a company wholly owned by the government of Ghana. As you may already be aware, it’s been 12 solid months since the workers of the company were paid. Just imagine the situation of a worker and their families in today’s Ghana without a salary for 12 calendar months," he said.

The TUC accused the government of attempting to sideline the legitimate operator, the GRCL, which is wholly government-owned. Ansah cautioned the Ministry and the GRDA to “desist from the unholy attempt to run the trains without the operator.”

“The TUC would like to caution the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Railway Development Authority to desist from the unholy attempt to run the trains without the operator. The Ghana Railway Company Limited, which is the operator, the ministry can’t purport to run the Mpakadan rail line and other lines without the operator. We will resist any attempt to sideline the Ghana Railway Company Limited,” he added.

NAD/

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