KEY POINTS
- Ghana mineworkers are demanding the release of $34.55 million in frozen savings.
- More than 19,000 workers, retirees and dependants are affected.
- The union has warned of renewed industrial action if the funds are not released.
The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union has stepped up pressure on the Bank of Ghana to release more than 380 million Ghanaian cedis ($34.55 million) in workers’ savings that have remained frozen since the country’s financial-sector clean-up.
The union presented a petition to the central bank on Thursday, demanding that the funds be returned to thousands of mineworkers who have been unable to access their money for years.
The affected funds include provident contributions, welfare savings and severance packages accumulated by workers in the mining industry.
According to the union, more than 19,000 current and former mineworkers are affected by the frozen funds. The beneficiaries include retired and redundant workers, widows and dependants of deceased employees.
The union’s General Secretary, Abdul-Moomin Gbana, said many of those affected were struggling to meet essential expenses, including healthcare, education and housing.
For the workers, the prolonged delay has turned what were intended to be financial safety nets into inaccessible funds at a time when many households are facing rising living costs.
Funds Trapped After Financial-Sector Clean-Up
The dispute is linked to Ghana’s financial-sector reforms, which began in August 2017 and were completed in 2019.
The reforms were introduced to address widespread insolvency, poor governance and other weaknesses within the country’s financial system. As part of the exercise, the Bank of Ghana revoked the licences of more than 400 financial institutions.
However, the mineworkers’ union says the clean-up left workers’ savings trapped within the affected financial institutions.
The union has continued to pursue the release of the funds, but says repeated assurances from the central bank have failed to produce a lasting resolution.
The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union said it had deliberately refrained from organising demonstrations since 2021, choosing instead to engage authorities and rely on assurances that the issue would be resolved.
With the funds still inaccessible, however, the union warned that patience among affected workers was running out.
It is now seeking a meeting with the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Finance Minister to find a solution to the long-running dispute.
The union also threatened renewed industrial action if the government fails to address the matter.
