General News of Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Source: primenewsghana.com
2017-09-27
The protests have brought all other activities at the company to a halt
Workers of Metro Mass Transit limited this morning laid down their tools to demonstrate against what they claim to be the mismanagement of the state-owned transport company.
They are incensed by the decision of the leadership to purchase a Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle for the Chief Executive at a cost of over 400,000 cedis, when hundreds of buses have been grounded due to the lack of spare parts. Their allowances for long-haul journeys have also not been paid for months.
The workers on Monday morning locked up the offices of the CEO and other executives seized their official car keys and deflated their tyres in protest at what they describe as unacceptable how the company is being run.
“How can we work for so much and yet we are not paid our allowances, meanwhile the bosses take their pay and per-diems even before they travel” one angry worker told PrimeNewsGhana.
One of the demonstrators who gave his name only as Clement, a driver, said there are over One Hundred buses in the workshop that have broken down, some simply due to worn out tyres or minor mechanical problems, “the management has not bothered to make available resources to fix them, but have the “guts” to decide to buy a luxurious vehicle for the CEO.”
He maintains the workers will not allow the purchase and are demanding the immediate release of funds to fix the buses, “They should give us that money to fix the buses, then we can make profit”
Reports indicate other Metro mass stations have also grounded buses and are refusing to work in solidarity with their colleagues in Accra. Passengers have been left stranded at the Kumasi Metro Mass station as few buses are being allowed to operate by the workers.
