Striking cocoa carriers kick against proposed 82 pesewas-per-bag wage
The cocoa carriers have launched a protest against the Cocoa Marketing Company after a renewed wage-per-bag of cocoa they cart was pegged at 0.82pesewas
The striking cocoa carriers have kicked against the latest wage upward adjustment by the Cocoa Marketing Company through its labour supply companies.
Earlier this week, the cocoa carriers embarked on an industrial action across the country to protest against what they describe as salary dispute among other problems over the past five years.
The carriers stated that all efforts to get management through letters to help resolve their issues have not yielded any results.
However, in a communique sighted by Asaase News, the latest upward adjustment has been pegged from 0.62 pesewas to 0.82 pesewas.
But the carriers said the increment is not enough to support their livelihoods.
Speaking to Asaase News, Raymond Abagna Atanga, spokesperson for the cocoa carriers said their members will push until the current rate is further increased to GHC1.00.
“We are still not satisfied and the strike will still hold until they pay us at GHC1.00. We would’ve been satisfied in a way if COCOBOD told us they don’t have the capacity or ability to pay us one cedi per bag but for them to be able to pay us ghc1.02 pesewas and deduct our Ghc1 and give it to the contractors who are not doing any work then, it means that they’re just being unfair to us,” Atanga stated.
Cocoa carriers in Takoradi, Kumasi, and Tema embarked on a sit-down strike to demand wage increment and better conditions of service.
Thousands of bags of cocoa beans were left at the mercy of the weather on Wednesday at the various warehouses of COCOBOD in the Western and Ashanti regions as a result of the indefinite sit-down strike declared by the carriers.
There are fears that beans destined for export through Ghana’s main cocoa trading centres will be left to rot if officials fail to intervene.
Jonathan Ofori and Nicholas Brown
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa, 100.3 in Cape Coast and 106.9 in Walewale
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
