Fuel tanker drivers begin sit-down strike

Fuel tanker drivers across the country have been directed by their mother association, the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union to boycott work from today, Monday, October 19, 2020.

The association in a letter said all the drivers must however report to their respective loading gantries.

“We are informing all tanker drivers across the country that on Monday, 19th October 2020, no driver should move a truck but report to their various loading gantries at Tema for Union Offices, Takoradi, Buipe, Kumasi respectively,” the letter from the association said.

It is unclear the reason for the directive but Citi News understands that the association will organize a press briefing later today to give details about the decision.

Previous strikes

In September 2020, tanker drivers operating at the Buipe depot in the Savannah Region declared an indefinite strike over the refusal of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) management to fix malfunctioning loading metres at the depot.

Months earlier, the drivers kicked against the implementation of the new Electronic Cargo Tracking System by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).

The Electronic Cargo Tracking System and the National Command Centre from the National Petroleum Authority was launched in Accra in January 2020 to improve the efficiency of NPA in the monitoring of Bulk Roads Vehicles nationwide and also check illicit activities associated with the transportation of petroleum products across the country.

But the drivers threatened to strike if the implementation is not suspended.

They said the NPA must hold on with the implementation until the partial lockdown announced in parts of the country earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic is over.