A sharp shift from permanent to non-standard employment in Ghana’s gold sector has left mineworkers exposed to insecurity and unpaid benefits, the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) says.
At the union’s first-half National Executive Council meeting in Tarkwa, Deputy General Secretary Jerry Andoh told delegates that more than 90 percent of the mining workforce was engaged on temporary, casual or fixed-term contracts by the end of 2024 with standard employment accounting for roughly 10 percent.
He warned that the change has occurred even as global gold prices have risen from about US$1,800 during the pandemic to above US$3,000 this year, a windfall that has not translated into better conditions for ordinary workers.
Andoh attributed the trend to a fragmentation of production, aggressive outsourcing and recent policy shifts by the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources that, he said, have encouraged local content arrangements that inadvertently weaken employment protections.
“Workers now face lower levels of employment protection, higher degrees of uncertainty and elevated risks of workplace accidents,” he told the council, describing the current model as retrogressive for labour standards. The union argues that these changes shrink collective bargaining coverage and reduce predictability in incomes and pensions.
The human costs, according to the GMWU briefing, are already visible on the ground. Members report excessive delays in wage payments, non-remittance of provident fund and pension contributions, withheld terminal gratuities and protracted wage negotiations.
Such practices, the union says, also erode statutory protections including first- and second-tier pension contributions and employee tax compliance, heightening the vulnerability of workers and their families.
GMWU leaders urged multinational operators, local contractors and the Chamber of Mines to heed the warning signs and adopt immediate remedial measures.
The union called for restored standards of permanent employment where appropriate, timely payment of statutory benefits, and clearer accountability for entities that now perform core mining functions through third-party contractors. It also asked government regulators to reassess policy settings that enable precarious work arrangements in the name of local participation.
Trade union officials stressed that without corrective action the sector risks labour unrest and a decline in social licence that could undermine production and investment.
“This arrangement threatens the decent work agenda and risks impoverishing members,” the union statement said, urging policymakers to prioritise employment protections as part of broader mining-sector reform. Observers say a balance must be struck between encouraging local participation and preserving workers’ rights if the industry’s recent revenues are to lead to sustainable, inclusive gains.