The Ghana Railway Workers Union is highly expectant that negotiations regarding salaries and severance packages for some 672 retrenched staff of the Railway Company Limited will be concluded by the end of June.
This assurance follows complaints over delayed salary payments, which have been in arrears for more than 11 months, as well as concerns about staff retrenchment.
According to the Railway Workers Union, all staff aged 45 and above will be affected by the retrenchment exercise. Government has justified this move by citing the non-operationalisation of the country’s railways, particularly the Western Rail Line, once one of its most profitable routes.
Reports indicate that the affected staff were expected to be disengaged by 1 June 2026. However, the union insisted on the finalisation of their severance packages and the payment of all outstanding salaries.
In addition, the union protested a government move to limit its responsibility for the payment of severance packages to December 2025.
“Our justification was that we did not receive any official letter within that period about the termination of employment,” said Benjamin Essuman, General Secretary of the union, speaking to Media General’s Takoradi-based radio station, Connect 97.1FM.
He added that a payroll audit is currently underway as part of measures to ensure the payment of all outstanding benefits for railway workers.
“Currently, the payroll is undergoing an audit. We are assured that when the audit is completed – hopefully by the end of July – our salary arrears will be cleared,” he said.
In the meantime, a total of 160 staff of the company are expected to be redeployed.
The government, under the leadership of President Mahama, has promised to revamp the rail sector, with a proposal to include the redevelopment of the Western Rail Line under the Big Push Agenda.
By Abraham Mensah
