Ghana: Petroleum Tanker Drivers To Call Off Strike Today After Emergency Stakeholders’ Meeting

Petroleum Tanker Drivers in the Republic of Ghana will, on Friday, May 24, 2024, suspend their four days of industrial action.

This follows an emergency stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at the head office of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

The tanker drivers declared a nationwide strike action on Monday, May 20, 2024, over claims that the Board of NPA and Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) had refused to approve the conditions of service framework for tanker drivers and their mates, which was unanimously endorsed by a committee whose composition was facilitated by the NPA.

The regulator, NPA, and AOMC responded to the issue, with the NPA rejecting the assertion by the Tanker Drivers’ Union that its board had refused to approve the framework.

In a statement issued by Dr. Riverson Oppong, Chief Executive Officer of AOMC, the association clarified that payment of salaries to drivers and their mates is the sole responsibility of employers.

While acknowledging the important role the tanker drivers play in the transportation and distribution of petroleum products across the country, he said the AOMC remained committed to ensuring that tanker drivers were fairly remunerated.

He urged the union to provide a list of all OMCs that are not paying drivers and their mates.

In a communique issued after the stakeholders’ meeting, it was agreed that the drivers called off the strike and adopted the conditions of the service framework.

The implementation of the framework is expected to commence in June 2024.

The General Secretary of GNPTDU, Francis Sunday, told this portal that they would meet their members tomorrow morning, Friday, after which they would call off the strike action.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com