The Ghana Mine Workers Union is threatening to bring the mining sector to a standstill if the current huge disparity between wages of locals and expatriates are not addressed.
According to the miners, they will use their right to collective bargaining to demand their due. The union has been crying foul about the current trend, insisting most underpaid locals have better capacity and training than their foreign counterparts. “Government used to say that the mining sector income gap may distort the economy, but the reality is that this sector employs less than one percent of the work force in the job market. So why wouldn’t we have the situation where we get people to be paid good money to pay their taxes then we grow the mining economy “, the general secretary of the Miners Union, Prince William Ankrah lamented.
In an interview with Citi Business News he insisted the miners would ensure the trend would be reversed.
“We have collective bargaining to correct the internal mess and we will use that muscle to deal with it. If we raise the issue and it’s not getting the right attention we have many strategies … if they don’t come clean we will bring the mining sector to a standstill.”, William Ankrah charged.
